Forever Yours
by NarutoFan27
Summary: A soulmate is a person with whom you have an immediate connection the moment you meet - a connection so strong that you are drawn to them in a way you have never experienced before. Little did he know that his soulmate is just around the corner. Untold stories of Minato and Kushina. Will it work out for the both of them?
1. Getting to Know You

**This is going to be my first fanfic ever. I hope you like it. Since its going to be my first time, don't forget to leave a review. It would help me a lot in the next chapters that I am gonna publish. Feel free to criticize my work but NO SWEARING or CURSING allowed. I'll try my best to update at least once a week. Im just glad that my first work will be about the Minato and Kushina pairing, Some scenes here are based on the anime because I'd like it to stay the same. If ever you noticed a grammar or spelling error please tell me.**

**I do not own Naruto... It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

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Chapter One

Getting to Know You

"Woke up too early again I guess" Minato said while yawning. He looked at his alarm clock and realized that it was just 5:30 am. He took a shower and went down for breakfast.

"Good morning Minato-kun!" His mom said.

He was surprised to see a lot of food prepared at the table. He stared at his mother and gave her a puzzled look. Out of curiosity, he asked his mother, " What's the celebration? Did I miss something?"

His mother let out a chuckle "Happy Birthday Minato! , I can't believe you forgot about it. You are already 9 years old, isn't that great?"

"Oh yeah, sorry I forgot! Thankyou mom for always supporting me." He approached his mother to give her a hug. She smiled as he told Minato "Aww... my son is big already. I can't believe it, It seems that it was just yesterday when you were still a baby."

Minato ate the food prepared on the table and leaved the house as soon as he was finished eating. His mother waved goodbye and wished him good luck in school.

On his way to school, he saw Fugaku Uchiha; his bestfriend. "Goodmorning Fugaku!" Minato shouted. Fugaku approached Minato and handed over a kunai to him "Gee, thanks for the gift. You knew that I really wanted a kunai as a birthday present, I told my mom to get me one but she told me that it's too dangerous for me."

Fugaku just smiled and kept walking with him. Fugaku is very calm and quiet. He does not speak that much. "Hehehe! You know well that the acadamy prohibits us to have these kind of things but you still bought one for me, thanks Fugaku" Fugaku stared at him and said "No problem, just dont get caught carrying that thing around or you'll get a very nice birthday surprise from our teacher." he said sarcastically. They both know that kunais are only allowed to be used during training sessions and if they are already genin.

As they entered the classroom, Minato sighed knowing that the girls will be bothering him again as always.

"Happy Birthday Minato! Please accept my gift!" One girl said.

"There's no way Minato would accept your gift! It's cheap and revolting! Minato-kun here is my gift for you. I baked this cake especially for you" Ai said.

After that, a swarm of girls approached him. He was trying to look for an escape route. Mikoto pulled his hand and helped him get out of the crowd.

"I nearly died of suffocation back there, thanks for the help Mikoto" Minato said. Mikoto is the only girl who treated him normally. All of the other girls just kept on fangirling over him every single day. He is popular at school because he is handsome and a genious, and very talented too. Despite being popular with the girls, he never really had liked or admired someone in particular, he just thinks of Mikoto as a friend. They sat down on their respective seats as the adviser entered the room to announce something. "We have a new classmate. She is a transfer student from Uzushiogakure. Please introduce yourself to your classmates."

"Im Kushina Uzumaki, dattebane!" she covered her mouth in embarrassment. She always tries to stop from using that catchphrase but it just slips out of her mouth whenever she is nervous or excited. The whole class is laughing at her (except Minato, Fugaku and Mikoto of course) They pointed at her hair and one boy said "Look at her hair! It's ugly!" She felt unwelcome. Kushina is a girl with red hair that is until her waist and blue-violet eyes. Minato thinks she's pretty and intriguing. The teacher told the class to keep quiet.

She wanted to give a good expression of herself so she shouted " I... I'm gonna be the first female Hokage!" Everyone was shocked. It was foolish to announce something like that. It would be more appropriate if she would just say that being Hokage is her dream rather than proclaiming that she would actually become one.

Minato stood up as he clenched his fist and placed it in his chest while saying. "I also dream of being Hokage, someone who will be admired and acknowledged by the whole village" he said it while smiling at her. Kushina didn't take him seriously or imagined that he will become Hokage because to her, he looked like a flake and a sissy.

While the teachers were not around, a group of boys approached her and started to make fun of her hair. "Tomato!"

"From now on we'll call you tomato!"

"I hate tomatoes, I never eat them in my salad. A tomato that everyone hates will never be Hokage!" They all laughed at her. She was starting to lose her temper. She accepted the nickname grudgingly, but it suited her because of her red hair and round face. Her pride cant accept it, back on her own village, she was highly respected because her father is the head of their village.

Her face is starting to get red. One boy started pulling her hair and said "Look she's getting riper and riper! Time to harvest!"

Kushina couldn't take the insults anymore and decided to teach these guys a lesson they'll never forget. She grabbed the boy's hand that was pulling her hair and used him as a pinweel to knock his other classmates. She punched them in their face, showing no mercy. The bullies were crying from the pain but she didn't stop "Keep on calling me that and you'll regret it!"

Minato and Fugaku was observing her from a bench, amused by the strength she was showing. They were laughing. Thinking that they were insulting her, she shot a glare at Minato and said "What are you laughing at?" Minato looked away but stared at her by the corner of his eye, not turning his head to her so that he wont be noticed.

At break time, all of the kids were outside playing, eating and chatting. Kushina sat on a swing while thinking about her homeland and wished that she never agreed to go to this stupid place. No one liked her anyway.

Minato was sitting on the tree branches with Fugaku. He noticed Kushina being lonely and felt sorry for her. Nobody even bothered talking to her and if anybody would, they just let her feel worse by insulting and mocking her. _"she does not deserve to be treated this way, maybe I'll try talking to her and make her feel welcome"_ he said in his thoughts.

He got down from the tree and told Fugaku "I'll be gone for a while, I'll get back to you later" He was about to approach Kushina when he suddenly felt nervous and lost for words all of a sudden._ "What the hell is wrong with me? This is gonna be harder than I thought." _He was just standing there in front of her not knowing what to say. _"oh man! I feel like an idiot."_

Kushina stared at him and said "what do you want? are you going to tease me like the other boys did? If I were you, I wouldn't even try to do so because I'm not gonna hold back, I'll send you flying to the clinic."

"I have no intention of doing so, I just wanted to know if you are okay" Minato said.

"Sure im fine. Now if that's all you wanted to know then you can leave"

Minato was a bit hurt from her words but he didn't stop anyway.

"I umm... I was wondering if ... Can we be friends?" He offered a hand to her waiting for a response. He smiled at her reassuringly. Kushina stared at him and felt warm, he is different from the others. She knew from his smile that he was sincere, she knew that she could trust him. She smiled at him and accepted the handshake, "sure, I cant see why not"

Minato was happy to hear this, he was expecting Kushina to refuse the offer. "Now that we're friends, I want to know more about you. What is your old home like?" Minato asked.

"Well, it's the best place in the world. I would have never left that village if I had the choice, but my father decides to send me here, not telling me the reason until I finally got here. I decide not to tell you about what they needed from me because it might change the way you think about me"

"Anyway are you hungry?" Minato asked.

"Now that you mentioned it, I'm starving! Is there a ramen shop here? I love ramen." Kushina said

"Actually, there is. And it's not that far from here. Lets go to Ichiraku's, they serve the best ramen in the world."

"They do? If you say so then let's go." Kushina said

"Wait here for a while, I'll get back to invite Fugaku and Mikoto. They will be glad to join us."

"Okay. Dont let me wait for too long"

Minato went back to the tree and apologized to Fugaku "Sorry for the wait, let's invite Mikoto and go to Ichiraku's"

"Do you think she'll go, I mean she will only agree coming with us if she was not the only girl." Fugaku said.

"No problem, I already invited one." Minato said.

"Who?" Fugaku asked.

"Kushina"

"Say what? You were able to convince her? You have guts to actually ask her out of all the girls who would actually go with you without hesitation."

"It's not a date, I just wanted to make her feel welcome so I talked to her and we became friends" Minato said. Fugaku remained quiet. They were able to convince Mikoto and they met with Kushina.

"Kushina, I want you to meet my friends, Mikoto and Fugaku"

Kushina reached out a hand and said "Nice to meet you"

Fugaku and Mikoto returned the handshake and they were officially friends.

While they were at Ichiraku's, they were chatting and Fugaku cracked up at Kushina's joke. She was just cheerful and hilarious. They were having a good time and Minato felt happy being around her. She was such a carefree person. Little did he know that he was starting to like her.

That afternoon, Mikoto and Kushina became best friends, just like Minato and Fugaku used to be. They agreed to make it a daily routine to eat at Ichiraku's at their spare time. It was getting a little late and they said farewell to each other. Minato approached Kushina and told something to her. "It was nice getting to know you"

"Me too."

end of chapter...

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So... what do you think? Was I able to pass your standards? If this turns out well then maybe I'll stretch this fanfic a little longer, that depends if you are willing to support my fanfic. I hope I am not getting a little persuasive, all I want is a little motivation from you guys. I'm already drafting the second chapter so it wont take long before it shows up.

To be continued...

Hugs and Kisses


	2. Without You

**I do not own Naruto... It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

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Chapter Two

Without You

"Sorry I came home late." Minato told his mother as he entered the door. His mother was sitting on the sofa while reading a book.

"How is your day at school? I guess you have been spending time with your friends lately since you came home late. Tell me about what happened today" Minato sat down on the sofa with her. He is really close to his mother, he does not keep anything from her. For him, she is not only a mother but a best friend too, someone who you could trust with your secrets and rely on.

"It was really great mom. I met this new girl at school, she came from another village. She was really scary at first because she injured the bullies at school badly, but I noticed that she was lonely so I decided to talk to her. She was a little rude to me at first but I understand why she was being like that, no one welcomed her. She thought that I was also going to bully her but I told her that I have no intention of doing so, and all I wanted is to be friends  
with her. I was expecting her to refuse but she gladly accepted my offer. Fugaku and Mikoto met her too, and we had a great time chatting together at Ichiraku's." Minato said.

His mother was staring at him. In her mind, it was unusual of him to talk about a girl. She knew that his son never had an interest in girls. This intrigued her._ "Minato is having his very first crush, from the way he was talking about her, she's no ordinary girl. He looks so happy today and I know that its because of her."_

"Mom, I have a question."

"What is it?" his mom asked.

"Why do I feel nervous and cheerful around Kushina, is there something wrong with me? Am I sick? I never felt like this way towards someone before."

"There's absolutely no problem with you." His mother said, then a brilliant idea came across her mind. " Hey! why don't you invite her here for dinner? I would like to meet her."

"Okay, maybe three weeks from now, I just met her yesterday." Minato said with a smile. He stood up and went to his room. He was reading a book, but every once in a while, an image of a girl with red hair and blue-violet eyes will pop out from his mind. He wanted to shake it off sometimes but it just keeps on coming. _"There is definitely something wrong with me."_ he thought.

Three weeks had passed and they were getting more acquainted with each other every single day, as Minato entered the classroom. He saw a group of girls talking harshly to Kushina.

"You just arrived here three weeks ago and you've got the nerve to flirt with Minato, how dare you! We've been doing all we can to impress him for two whole years and yet you reached farther than we achieved. What did you do to him? blackmail him or what? " Ai said.

"Go back to your country, no one wants you to be here!" another girl said.

Minato was dumbfounded._ "What the hell is wrong with those stupid girls? that's exactly the reason why I never liked them, they're so screwed up"_ Even though Minato was a polite person, sometimes he cant avoid getting annoyed by them. There's one time when he almost lose his temper and felt like shouting to them. Good thing he didn't, he prefered to keep his opinions to himself.

Mikoto couldn't stand it anymore so she decided to help Kushina out. "Shut up already! Kushina is not a flirt. Dont judge her cause you don't know her yet. Jealousy wont get you anywhere. Come here Kushina, you can sit beside me and Minato."

Ai shot a glare at Mikoto. She just rolled her eyes and told Kushina "Dont listen to those stupid girls, they are just jealous that you are close with Minato."

"What's the big deal with him anyway?" Kushina asked.

"He is the most popular boy here in the academy. He kept on getting consistent perfect scores in his test. He is a genious. They not only admire him for being incredibly smart, but also for his good looks." Mikoto said.

"Is Minato interested in any of them?" Kushina asked.

"Of course not, he never liked any of them. For him, they were just annoying girls he wanted to get rid of. I feel sorry for him though, it's really tough surviving school everyday with those girls who did nothing but fight over him." Mikoto said and he sighed.

The class went on. As soon as they were dismissed, Minato approached Kushina.

"Umm.. hi Kushina, how's your day?" Minato asked. He was feeling butterflies in his stomach again.

"Better than the first day I got here I suppose, I was glad that the boys stopped teasing me but I didn't expect the girls to over react about us being friends, those dimwits are so annoying! If they get on my nerves, they'll get it dattebane!" Kushina shouted.

Minato smiled, he does not know for what reason but there is something about her attitude that infects others. It's like once you get near her, you can't stop smiling.

"Hey Kushina! do you want to come over my house and eat dinner with us, I want to introduce you to my mom." Minato said.

"Oh sure, if she doesn't mind me going there." Kushina said in response.

"Of course not. She's very kind once you get to know her." Minato said reassuringly.

"If you insist then I think I'll go" Kushina said.

They walked their way to Minato's house and kept chatting. When they finally arrived. Minato pushed the doorbell and said "Mom! I'm home! We've got a visitor!"

His mom opened the door and said "Hello there! goodafternoon! You are Kushina, am I right?" His mom smiled.

Kushina nodded in response, she felt awkward meeting his mother so she can't think of anything to say. "umm... nice to meet you Mrs. Namikaze." she smiled at her.

Minato's mother thought to herself _"such a lovely young lady, I knew she was not the typical Konoha girl. Her hair is beautiful, it's a bright shade of red and her eyes complimented it. Her skin is fair and oh my! she's taller than Minato-kun. There's so much catching up to do Minato."_

"Dont be shy, come in for a while, Minato's room is over there. You could spend time together while I prepare dinner. Have fun!"

Kushina entered the house. It was simple, clean and neat. She preferred this kind of home. She was looking around when she saw a portrait of Minato when he was still a baby. "It's so cute!" she told Minato. "Kushina, do you want to see my room?" Minato said.

"Sure." Kushina responded. They went through the staircase and went to the first door on the left.

"Here it is Kushina."

Kushina gasped. In his room, there was a wide window that had the perfect view of the beautiful sunset. It was the shade of orange, purple and red.

"I have never seen such a beautiful sunset in my entire life." Kushina told Minato. "I wished my room also had this kind of view. It's fantastic!"

Minato smiled in agreement. They were just staring and admiring the beautiful sunset. They were quiet for a couple of minutes, Kushina broke the silence and said, "I heard from Mikoto that it was your birthday a few weeks ago so I decided to give you this." Kushina handed over a box.

Minato opened the box and saw a leather necklace with a tiger's tooth.

"I hope you liked it. That necklace is a good luck charm and the tiger's tooth a sign of bravery." Kushina smiled.

"Belated Happy Birthday Minato!" She added.

Minato can feel his heartbeat raise. Kushina did not expect the next thing that happened, he hugged her and whispered to her ear "Thankyou very much, I really appreciate it." Kushina was shocked. Minato's mom suddenly entered the room and they were caught in act. I couldn't tell who was more shocked, Kushina or his mom.

Minato let go of her and felt embarrased, _"What did I just did? Did I actually embraced her? Why would I do such a thing?"_

Minato's mom finally got back to her senses and remembered what she came there for. "Dinner is ready, I prepared your favorite Minato." She smiled at them and returned back to the kitchen.

When they went to the dining area, they sat down on the table and they were both silent. They suddenly felt awkward with each other after what happened awhile ago. Minato's mom couldn't believe it either. They were eating on the table when his mother decided to talk to Kushina. "Kushina, from your looks I think you came from another village, am I right?"

"Yes.. I came from Uzushiogakure." Kushina said shyly.

"What is it like?" His mother asked,

"It is a very beautiful country indeed, there were surrounding beaches and whirlpools." Kushina was saddened, every time she remembered her hometown.

Minato tried to change the subject, seeing how Kushina reacted with the question.

"Mom, I have to tell you something very important." Minato said. His mother looked at him and said "what is it?"

"The teachers decided to let me graduate as genin two years earlier than usual, they told me about it awhile ago. So that means I'll be graduating next year." Minato said.

"Really? then you must be really proud and happy Minato." His mother said.

"But... I wont get the chance to be with my friends anymore." He said.

Kushina looked at Minato shocked. _"We just became friends, then now he's already leaving in one year nontheless. Im already seperated from my family but I don't know if I can take it being seperated from him. He was the first one who accepted me in this village and yet..."_ She felt a lump in her throat, trying to stop her tears from falling. _"Why do I feel so connected to him anyway?"_

She decided to leave. She stood up and said "Sorry, but it's getting late. My mom might scold me, thankyou for the dinner." She walked her way to the door and left. A tear escaped her eyes as she ran through the cold streets of Konoha. _"It's not fair!"_ thinking to herself.

Minato was staring at her through their open window.

_"Kushina, im sorry..."_

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_To be continued..._


	3. Decision

**I apologize if this chapter is a little shorter than usual. I'll make sure that the next chapter will be longer than this. So... what do you think so far? I hope you liked my previous chapter. Feel free to review, it helps a lot. Drafting the fourth chapter already...**

**I do not own Naruto... It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto**

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Chapter Three

Decision

Kushina woke up late. She is still deppressed about what just happened yesterday. As soon as she got home yesterday night, she felt so lonely and empty, it was her own fault too. She was expecting too much, expecting that Minato would never leave her.

Her eyes are beggining to water again, remembering all the things that happened to her and Minato over the past three weeks. To her, he was a special friend that she had a strong connection with. It is weird though, she thought. She had a lot of friends back at her home town but nothing felt like this. She decided to distance herself from him, It would not do any good if she became closer to Minato, it would hurt her more if the time comes that he had to leave.

She prepared herself and went to school. As she entered the classroom, Minato noticed that she is not as cheerful as she used to be. She sat on her seat and sighed. _"She didnt even say a single 'hi to me. Maybe I should talk to her." _Minato thought.

When they were dismissed, he looked for Kushina and saw her at the training grounds punching a dummy.

As he approached her, she told him. "Go away!"

"What's the problem?" Minato asked.

"The problem is you! It would be better if I stay away from you, what choice do I have anyway? In the end, you will leave me all alone just like everyone does!" Then she started to cry, _"please not now, not in front of him darn it!"_

"Listen to me Kushina, even though I will be graduating a little earlier than you guys, it does not mean that I would leave you alone. Maybe we wont be able to spend time together as often as we used to but I'll do my best to be there for you whenever you need me and I wont forget to visit you during my spare time, I promise." Minato told her as he wiped away her tears. He gave her a hug and comforted her.

Kushina was starting to feel a little better and she stopped crying. "You promise?"

"I would never go back on my words Kushina, you can count on that." Minato said while smiling at her. It was that same smile that always made Kushina feel warm and secured.

"Just to make sure, let's do a pinky swear." Kushina said.

"A pinky what?" Minato asked

"A pinky swear dattebane! It's something bestfriends do if they swear that they'll never break a promise they just made." Kushina said.

"Okay so how do we do it?" Minato asked.

"Put out your pinky like this and wrap it around my pinky and say this: I promise that I will never forget about Kushina and I'll be there for her whenever she needs me." Kushina explained.

Minato raised his pinky and did exactly what Kushina told him to do. "I promise Kushina that I will never forget her and I'll be there for her whenever she needs me."

Kushina smiled. Afterwards, they started to leave and eat at Ichiraku ramen. "Ichiraku really is the best! right Minato?"

"Right!" Minato said in agreement.

Teuchi smiled "You know well that even if you praise my cooking, you still have to pay for it pal!"

"We know alright!" Kushina said in an annoyed tone.

"Expecting something aren't you Kushina?" Minato teased.

"Tsch. Shut up blondie." Kushina murmered. It was loud enough for Minato to hear.

"What did you call me huh, Tomato?" Minato said in response. Kushina was not insulted whenever Minato called her that, unlike the others, she knew that Minato didnt mean it in that way.

It is normal for them to have a teasing session every once in a while. Fugaku and Mikoto suddenly appeared.

"Hey! I didnt expect you guys here, are you two having a date?" Mikoto asked.

"Of course not, why would I date a pineapple head like him?" Kushina said.

"Really? Then why are you crying awhile ago and making a big deal of me leaving? You just cant avoid to have the hots for me?" Minato said which made Kushina really embarrased. She was turning red.

"Uh oh, the red hot habanero strikes again!" Mikoto said.

"Come here pineapple head, why dont we put your head into the blender? Who wants pineapple shake?" Kushina asked.

"No thanks, I'll pass. Who would want to drink something rotten anyway?" Fugaku replied.

"Hahahaha! You do have a point Fugaku." Kushina laughed.

"2 orders of miso ramen please" Mikoto told Teuchi.

"Coming right up." Teuchi said.

"Is it true that you'll be graduating two years earlier than us Minato?" Mikoto asked.

"It's true. The teachers just told me yesterday." Minato said.

"I have a plan! Once Minato graduates, lets have a party and give him congratulatory presents, how does that sound?" Kushina said.

"Great idea Kushina. It'll might be our last chance being together as a complete group so why dont we make it special?" Mikoto agreed.

"Thanks a lot guys but I dont want an extravagant one, knowing you and Mikoto, Im sure you guys are up to something big. Just make it simple and I only wanted the four of us together." Minato said.

"Where have you heard of a party with only 3 guests? come on Minato!" Mikoto said.

"He does have a point, It would be better if it were only the four of us. And you could do the planning, im not good in that stuff" Fugaku said.

"Leave it to us!" Both Kushina and Mikoto grinned at each other and they were laughing in a devilish way.

_"Oh no, by the looks of it, they are up to something bad." _Minato and Fugaku thought.

End of chapter...

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To be continued...

Hugs and Kisses!


	4. A Helping Hand

**Thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate them. Here is chapter four I hope you like it! This chapter is a bit longer than the previous one. If you want to suggest anything, feel free to do so. It might be of help you know. XD**

**I do not own Naruto... It owns to Masashi Kishimoto**

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Chapter Four

A Helping Hand

It has been a long time that has passed since the graduation party. Over the past few months of being genin, Minato met Inoichi Yamanaka, Shikaku Nara, Chouza Akimichi and Tsume Inuzuka, it was not long enough before they became friends, he also met Jiraiya, one of the legendary sannin, he was like a father to him but he couldn't stop from being pissed off especially when he drags Minato into his so called _research _trips.

"Come on kid! Stop disturbing me from my research." Jiraiya said.

"Sensei, the only reason that I agreed to come with you is because I thought that you were going to teach me the summoning jutsu. I should have known better." Minato frowned.

"How am I gonna teach you the summoning jutsu if you dont know how to be patient? Patience is the key to this jutsu and this is a test to prove if you are qualified, so stop complaining! stop being so immature, you must learn to behave like a real shinobi" Jiraiya shouted.

"You're the one to talk, you call peeping a mature thing to do? huh sensei?" Minato replied.

"It is not peeping! Its called research, it's not like I am doing this for no reason, I need inspiration for my novels. These are the ways of a true..."

"Pervert." Minato cut him off.

"...of a true artist." Jiraiya continued his speech. He was disappointed to see that the girls were about to leave.

_"Aw man..." _Jiraiya thought. Once they were gone, Jiraiya stood up and looked at Minato.

"Okay, are you ready for our training? I'll teach you the summoning jutsu." Jiraiya said.

"Of course I am." Minato replied.

"First thing to do is sign a contract with the toads in Mt. Myoboku." Jiraiya put out a giant scroll and opened it.

"Sign your name here using your blood then place your fingerprints here." Jiraiya pointed.

Minato did exactly what he said. "next?"

"After signing the contract, you can summon them anytime you want. Watch this."

He watched Jiraiya bite his own thumb then brushing the blood to his palm and make the hand signs of the dog, boar, monkey, bird and sheep, he placed his hand on the ground and shouted " Ninja Art! Summoning Jutsu!"

A toad the size of an elephant suddenly appeared. Minato was amazed, all he was able to say is "Cool.."

"Before you get started, mould your chakra with hand seals and then plant the hand you signed the contract with at the location you wish to summon the creature. The amount of chakra used during the summoning determines how powerful the summoned creature can be." Jiraiya explained.

"I see." Minato replied. He did all the steps Jiraiya did and was able to summon a normal sized frog on his first try. Minato sweat dropped.

"Dont get too upset, It's just your first attempt. even if you are a genious, you wont be able to get it so easily you know. Hahaha! I remembered when I first used the summoning jutsu, I forgot to sign the contract first and I was transported to Mt. Myoboku." Jiraiya added, "Just keep practicing, that will do the trick. Now that Im done teaching you the basics, I'll be gone for a while, see ya!" Jiraiya waved his hand farewell and went to the hot springs.

Minato sighed. He kept training for hours. He was exhausted and hungry, he decided to eat at Ichiraku's.

He saw Kushina at the ramen shop. He felt his heart beating fast again, he thought that maybe it was because he hadn't seen her for quite a while. "Hello Kushina, how's your day?"

Kushina was surprised to see Minato, she couldnt contain her excitement when she saw him. "Minato! It's been a while since you visited. How is it being a genin?"

"Well, its kinda boring at first because we have to do rank D missions like babysitting or retrieving lost cats, but I got used to it. I cant wait to be chunin. How 'bout you?" Minato asked.

"Well, Im fine." Kushina said while busily eating her ramen. When she was finished eating her third bowl, she asked Minato.

"I heard that your sensei is one of the legendary sannin, isn't that great?"

"I was really excited to meet him at first but I was kinda disappointed when I learned that he was a..."

"A what?" Kushina asked.

Speaking of him, Jiraiya entered the ramen shop

"I was not expecting to see you here." Jiraiya told Minato and looked at the girl beside him.

He sat beside her and asked

"What's your name?" Jiraiya asked.

"Im Kushina Uzumaki dattebane!" Kushina said eagerly. "It's a pleasure to meet one of the legendary sannin."

_"Kushina, eh. I think I heard that name before... Oh yeah, Minato used to talk about her." _Jiraiya thought.

"So... are you and Minato dating?" He asked.

Both of them almost choked up their ramen upon hearing the question.

"Sensei..." Minato said.

"Dont be mistaken, we're just friends," Kushina clarified.

"Sensei has been teaching me the summoning jutsu." Minato told her.

"That's awesome! You're lucky to have one of the legendary sannin as your sensei Minato. I envy you." Kushina said.

Jiraiya was observing Minato and he realized something. _"Minato seems so happy being around her. This little squirt! It would be fun setting up these two."_ Jiraiya inwardly laughed as he thought of a plan.

"Hey Kushina, would you like to train with me and Minato?" He asked.

"Really? You dont mind? I could use some help ya know. Im about to graduate as genin a few months from now." Kushina said.

"Sure, no problem. We will start our training tomorrow, how does that sound?" Jiraiya asked.

"That's great! I can finally catch up with Minato and become Hokage."

"Hey Minato, we were off track, what is it you're gonna tell me about Jiraiya-sensei again?"

Minato shrugged "Uh...nothing, just forget about it."

"Okay I gotta go, see ya tomorrow Minato." as she was running back home, she had this smile on her face, knowing that by tomorrow, she'll be trained by the legendary sannin and most importantly, she will be spending her time with Minato. She does not know for what reason but she always feel jumpy around him. She missed him so much, this was the perfect oppurtunity in order to be with her bestfriend.

Minato and Jiraiya was sitting on the ramen stand eating their bowl of ramen.

"Do you like her?" Jiraiya asked.

"umm... who?" pretending not to know who he was talking about.

"Kushina, who else? You look different when you're with her, and when she left earlier, you must have seen your face. It's like the face of a little kid seeing his mommy leave hahahaha!" Jiraiya teased.

"Now that you say so, Im not sure if I like her or not, everytime I see her, I feel happy and nervous all of a sudden. Maybe it's because she's the closest girl I've been with." Minato said.

"My student is crushing on someone already!" Jiraiya shouted.

Minato was embarrased when people turned their heads looking in their direction. "Sensei... Kushina's just a friend, nothing more."

"Really huh? so you wouldn't mind if she was kissing another guy?" Jiraiya said.

"I er... why are we talking about this anyway huh?" Minato said trying to evade the question.

"Why? Dont you trust your sensei huh? You'll realize it sooner or later." Jiraiya said.

"It's not that I dont trust you, Im just not sure with my feelings yet..." Minato said.

Jiraiya looked at him and tapped his head "Im leaving, dont forget about the training tomorrow, your precious Kushina will be there."

"My what?!" Minato said as he realized something.

"You are setting us up arent you?" Minato said.

_"Damn. He's so smart...Gotta think of an excuse. Aha!"_

"Of course not, Even if I am your sensei, why would I enter your personal matters? whatever happens between you two, I dont care. I just wanted to help her with her training, arent you grateful that I am lending her a helping hand?" Jiraiya asked.

"Of course I am, It is just very unusual of you. You dont even give much attention to my training, all you ever do is peek at girls while I am training my butt off." Minato said.

"Ow.. that hurts Minato-kun, I've gotta go now, see ya tomorrow!" Jiraiya left the ramen stand while waving his hand goodbye.

_"why do I have this feeling that he's up to no good?"_ Minato thought.

end of chapter...

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To be continued...

Hugs and kisses!


	5. Realization

**I cant believe that my fanfic already reached 400 and more views in almost two days and 3 followers. Thanks for the reviews! It's so heart warming! I was motivated to update a new chapter so here it is! Hope you like it. I want to give my special thanks to:**

**attumsky123, ****iluvcake136, and zas118 for your support! You dont know how much I appreciate it!**

**I do not own Naruto... It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

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Chapter Five

Realization

Kushina is running through the streets of Konaha, worried. _"Oh no! It's my first day of training and Im late, I dont want Jiraiya-sensei to have a bad impression about me."_ She accidentally bumped into somebody, she wasn't paying attention to where she's going.

"Oh no! Im so sorry" Kushina told the person in front of her. She looked up and saw a ninja about her age with blonde hair, along with one fat ninja and a lazy looking guy.

"Oh, it's ok. I havent seen you before, are you new here?" Inoichi asked. _"ooh la la, she's pretty, might as well get to know her."_

" Sorta, I just arrived here one and a half year ago." Kushina answered.

"Where are you heading to? We can escort you till you get there." Inoichi said.

Shikaku shot a glare at Inoichi, his expression was telling him _"Inoichi this is not the time to be flirting again. We've got to go. You dont even know her and it's too troublesome"_

Kushina replied "Thanks for the concern but I must be going". Without waiting for a reply from them, she took off and ran, heading towards the training grounds.

"Damn Shikaku! I havent even got a chance to know her name, did you see her? she's so damn hot!" Inoichi grumbled.

"Girls are troublesome, I dont understand why you are so obsessed with them Inoichi, we also have important matters to attend to. Lord Hokage needs our presence immediately." Shikaku said.

"And maybe we can have some barbecue after the mission." Chouza interrupted.

Inoichi sighed, hoping that he would see her again sometime and actually get to know her without Shikaku interfering.

Kushina arrived at the training grounds, trying to catch her breath.

"Im so sorry Jiraiya-sensei for being late!" Kushina said.

"Nah, it's ok and besides you were just ten minutes late, dont make such a big deal out of it."

Minato was sitting beside a tree, reading a book. When he noticed that Kushina was already there, he kept his book and approached her.

"Ready for our training?" Minato asked.

"Of course I am dattebane!" Kushina said with enthusiasm.

Jiraiya interrupted the two and said "Now that we are already here, lets start the training. But first, Kushina has a lot of catch up to do. Hmm... let's see, I'll teach her the walking on the tree technique. While she's training, stay alert and catch her if ever she is about to fall, okay Minato?"

"Sure..." Minato slightly blushed at the idea.

"But first of all, you need to charge a steady flow of chakra into the soles of your feet, run up the tree to increase momentum. Once you mastered this technique, you will be able to walk on the tree with ease, got it?" Jiraiya explained while demonstrating it to her. Kushina could not believe what she was seeing.

"Is that even possible? I mean that's insane, I never saw anything like it. It's like going against the law of gravitation. How were you able to do that?"

"Well, it's simple. If you are able to release an appropriate amount of chakra, strong enough to keep your feet attached to the tree, you will be able to do it." Jiraiya said.

"Now I get it." Kushina ran up the tree but miserably failed. As she was about to land her first step on the tree, she slipped. Minato winced when he saw Kushina fall on her butt.

"Aaargh! What did I do wrong? I followed exactly what you told me." Kushina grumbled.

"It's not as simple as it seems, you need to have a good chakra control, and the chakra you released is too weak. Stay focused. In that way, you will be able to have a steady flow of chakra through your feet. Come on, Dont give up yet!"

"Of course I wont give up, I'll nail this technique in no time, trust me." Kushina said.

They continued training for several hours. Kushina was showing progress, Jiraiya admits that she has an insane amount of patience and stamina but she is overdoing it. When it was already noon, she felt like she could eat a whole lion if she could.

"Im so hungry, I havent had breakfast this morning either. Can I take a break sensei and eat? I need more energy so that I will be able to master this technique in no time, I've got no time to lose."

Jiraiya chuckled, she reminded him of himself back when he was young, always determined to learn new things so that he would be able to get Tsunade's attention and beat the crap out of Orochimaru. "Of course, you are overdoing it. You must rest for a bit."

"Thanks sensei! Minato would you like to eat lunch with me, Im so hungry ya know!" Kushina looked at Minato.

"Sure, Im guessing that you'll eat at Ichiraku's again, am I right?" Minato smiled.

"The heck I am! It's not like I've been to other restaurants before, ya know!"

"You mean, you never tried eating at other restaurants here at Konoha? not even at the Yakiniku Q, the barbeque restaurant?" Minato asked.

"Never heard of it." Kushina answered.

"They serve delicious barbeque, let's try something different dont you think? It's not like im tired of ramen or anything, I just want you to try something different, if you dont mind." Minato said.

"It's not like it would hurt to try... Ok then, let's go! Im starving to death ya know!"

Minato grabbed Kushina's hand and she blushed. _"We've held hands before, so why do I feel weird?" _

They arrived at Yakiniku Q. Minato saw Inoichi, Shikaku and Chouza eating. Inoichi waved his hand at Minato "Oi Minato! I didnt expect to see you here." Inoichi looked at the familiar red head beside him. "Hey! arent you the girl I met this morning? what a coincidence!" Inoichi thought to himself _"aren't I the lucky one? hehehe!"_

"Oh yeah, now that you mentioned it I do recognize you, Im surprised to know that you and Minato know each other." Kushina looked at Minato.

"I met them when I was given special classes by the teachers, let me introduce them to you. The blonde one is Inoichi Yamanaka, the one over there is Chouza Akimichi and this one is Shikaku Nara."

"Everyone, I want you to meet Kushina Uzumaki, she's a friend of mine."

_"Damn! why does Namikaze get all the girls? Wait a minute, didnt he said that they were just friends? It means that I still have a chance. I've gotta move fast"_ Inoichi smiled as he thought about it.

"Hey Kushina, there's a lot of space here, why dont you sit beside me and tell me more about yourself?" Inoichi told Kushina.

Kushina was a little bit uncomfortable with the idea but it was rude to refuse so she just sat down beside him. Minato sat beside Shikaku while the waiter was getting their orders.

Inoichi scooched a little closer to Kushina and told her "You're beautiful you know?" Kushina blushed at the statement, flattered. Minato was getting a little irritated with it, but he tried to control himself. _"He's just being friendly to Kushina, nothing to worry about."_ He looked at Kushina and when he saw her blush at Inoichi's flattery, he felt his hands clench. He looked at Inoichi with dagger eyes.

_"Hehehe, watching a jealous Minato is so fun! So he actually likes her, If I were him I would not let the oppurtunity be wasted. Kushina's beautiful, It will not take long before she gets taken. So he better watch out for oppurtunists such as myself hahaha!"_ Inoichi chuckled.

Minato was able to suppress his anger a bit, wondering to himself _"Why am I making such a big deal out of it? She's a friend remember, it's not like I have the right to be angry cause she does not even belong to me."_

As soon as they were done eating, Minato and Kushina said farewell to them. It was almost nighttime. As they were walking down the street, Minato asked Kushina "What do you think of Inoichi?"

Kushina raised an eyebrow "Why do you ask?"

"Well he likes you, isnt it obvious? I just wanted to know if you feel the same way about him." Minato stated.

"He's friendly and all but I dont think of him that way, He is just a friend." Kushina said smiling at Minato.

Minato felt relieved, he did not know what he would do if she did like him back. It felt weird to him, It was kinda selfish of him, he thought.

Minato was about to walk Kushina home but she insisted that she could go home by herself. He arrived home and went straight to his room, thinking about what happened this afternoon.

_"Maybe you're right sensei, I think I really do like her."_ Minato thought as he looked at his window. He was staring outside when he suddenly saw a group of ninjas running on patrol, curious of what is going on, he went outside and asked them personally.

"What's the matter? are we under attacked?" He asked.

"No, an intruder from the cloud village kidnapped someone from our village, someone named Kushina Uzumaki."

Minato was shocked. "What could they possibly want from her?"

"It is something confidential, we are not allowed to tell anyone. We must go, they are headed to the forest, near the border."

Without a word, Minato ran through the forests, worried.

_"I hope it's not too late, I can't afford to lose you Kushina, I dont know what I'll do if something bad happened to you."_

Minato ran through the forests as fast as he can while thoughts of a red haired girl appeared. He could not bear the thought of losing her.

_"Kushina..."_

end of chapter...

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To be continued...

Hugs and Kisses! XD


	6. Kidnapped

**Ive been updating so fast lately. Thanks for the follows :) Here is chapter six, hope you like it! It would take a while before I update a new chapter, the teachers chose me as the scriptwriter for our upcoming play. What a drag! If ever you watched episode 246 in Naruto Shippuden, most of the scenes here are based from that episode.**

**I do not own Naruto... It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto**

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Chapter Six

Kidnapped

The moon was full, it was the only thing that lit up the dark night. Minato was running through the forests, in search for Kushina. He stopped and noticed a red strand of hair. It was familiar to him, It was the exact same color of Kushina's hair. It was hard to miss._"She must be leaving a trail." _he thought. He followed the trail of hair and a glimmer of hope is visible in his eyes. _"I will save you for sure this time Kushina"_

Meanwhile, Kushina has both of her hands tied up with a rope. She was walking with three Kumo ninjas. One of them held the rope so that she wont be able to escape. Kushina was extremely exhausted from the travel. They have been walking, non stop for several hours. She doesn't have any energy left, feeling her body go numb, she suddenly collapsed. The three of them forced her to walk despite her weak condition. She kept leaving a trail of hair, not losing hope that someone would rescue her, even if she is an outsider. She recalled those times when the boys would tease her because of her hair color, she felt like an outcast to them. Everyone hated her. She remembered those times when no one approached or bothered to talk to her. If it wasnt for Minato, she would not have any friends. This is one of the times she wished that she never actually got to know him, because it made her more sad about the thought that she would never get to see them again. It would have been easier that way.

When they were near the border, she almost lost hope. The thought of being seperated from her loved ones and her friends saddened her. But what hurts her the most is the fact that she would not be able to see her bestfriend again. _"Minato... Im so sorry for breaking my promise to you. I havent even said goodbye to you yet. Im gonna miss you so much."_ as she thought of it, a tear was about to escape her eyes. She noticed a familiar figure coming out of nowhere. Kushina was glad to see that someone came to rescue her. The three of them did not notice him sneaking up behind them. He took them all out in less than 10 seconds. It all happened swiftly and he did not even got a scratch. The sky began to clear up and the darkness faded. The moon illuminated the path and she saw him... _"So it was Minato after all."_ she thought.

"Are you hurt?" Minato asked.

"I came here to save you." Minato said as he smiled at her.

Kushina felt relieved. She came closer to him, wanting to thank him for all the things he have done for her. She gave him a warm smile. Her body was so weakened, she was about to collapse again. Minato acted fast and catched her before she was about to hit the ground. He told her "You'll be okay now" he carried her, bridal style. Kushina was surprised "Wait a minu-" but before she could finish her statement, Kushina found herself being carried in his arms as he jumped to the top of the nearest tree. She noticed the strands of her hair in his hand. "That is.."

"You're hair is beautiful, I noticed it right away."

Kushina was surprised, no one complimented her hair before. She used to hate her hair because of the insults she was recieving from other people. He loved the only insecurity she had.

"But you always ignored me" Kushina thought of those times when she gets in a fight and Minato didnt even bother to help her.

"It's because I know that you are strong... both in body and spirit." Minato smiled at her. Kushina stared at his eyes.

"This is a conflict between two countries, this is different from your other fights so..."

"So?" Kushina asked.

"I didn't want to lose you." Minato said as he gave a reassuring smile.

Kushina changed her opinion about Minato, even when they became bestfriends, she secretly thinks that he is a flake and sometimes even girly. Right now, she feels her own heart beat fast as she realized something. _"Minato is a splendid ninja, im lucky to have someone like him."_

He carried her back to the village and brought her to the hospital to check if she was okay. The doctor told him that she needs to rest because she was extremely exhausted. He carried her to the hospital bed and told her "It's gonna be alright, I'll visit you from time to time if you want. But for now, you must rest." He was about to leave when Kushina called her. "Wait!"

Minato turned around and walked to her. When he was beside her, he asked "What is it?"

Kushina sat up and kissed him on the cheek, she hugged him and said. "I wanted to say thank you for saving me." Minato felt his cheeks blush and his heart started to race again. He wrapped his arms around her and told her. "I was worried about you, I have to save you because..." Minato was kinda hesitant to tell her about it.

"because what?" Kushina asked while remembering asking the same thing back at the forest.

"because you are my bestfriend, and I have to be there whenever you need me right? remember the promise we made?" he told her, but that is not what he originally planned on telling her.

He thought to himself_ "Im such a coward! but it would be better if I did not tell her now, it could wait. I dont want to ruin everything, it's okay as long as she's happy and safe. It does not matter if we are just friends."_

_"_of course.." she was a bit disappointed, deep in her heart, she was expecting something else. She lie on her bed again and her eyes started to close. Only a few minutes later, she was already fast asleep. Minato observed her in her sleep and felt like he could watch her for hours without getting bored, but he has to go now.

He was on his way back home when he was interrupted by some ANBU officers.

"Lord Hokage needs to see you immediately."

Minato nodded and went straight to the Hokage's office. When he finally got there, he asked "What do you need from me, Lord Hokage?"

"I want you to tell me the full details of how you rescued Uzumaki Kushina. I was impressed though, out of all the squads I sent to rescue her, you're the one who was able to locate her. How were you able to find her?" the Hokage asked.

"I was running through the forests and I saw a trail of hair she was leaving, I followed the trail and defeated three Kumo ninjas that held her captive." Minato explained.

"You really are a prodigy, like the rumors say."

The Hokage asked "Do you remember the appearances of those three ninjas that kidnapped Kushina? "

"Their faces was covered so I wasn't able to see them, but they were all wearing black clothes. If you want to know more about them, you should ask Kushina for that, I sneaked up from behind and left them unconscious so I was not able to take a good look at their appearances, I apologize Lord Hokage." Minato explained.

"There's no need to apologize, the important thing is that you were able save a friend from danger." the Hokage smiled at him and said

"You may leave now."

Minato returned home and his mother hugged him, worried. She asked him "What happened to you? Are you alright?"

"There's no need to worry, Im fine." He smiled at her.

"Dont do that ever again! leaving late at night and the next thing I know is that you were about to go to the forests, havent you heard that there is an enemy wandering the forests? You could get harmed." His mother shouted at him.

"I know and im sorry mom, I just cant help myself. I really wanted to save Kushina, she got kidnapped by them."

"What?! they kidnapped her? and you were actually able to save her? you're getting stronger and stronger Minato, it surprises me. I wont give you a punishment for now because you did it for a good reason but you'll get grounded the next time this happens."

He sighed. "Yes mom, I wont do it again." After that, he ate his dinner and went back to his room. It was already midnight. He lie on his bed and stared at the window, planning a visit to the hospital tomorrow.

end of chapter...

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sorry if this chapter is a bit short, I've been busy doing my homeworks, projects and stuff. Ja ne!

to be continued...


	7. Rivals

**It has been a while since I last updated. I was kinda having a writer's block and I was busy doing my projects and homeworks. Sorry if this chapter doesn't have much idea in it. Thankyou for the growing number of followers and reviews. I think my fanfic is getting a little dramatic, I must put more action, humor and adventure dont ya think? Dont worry, the next chapter will be more about that. Feel free to tell me if you have any suggestions.**

**I do not own Naruto... It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto**

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Chapter Seven

Rivals

It was a beautiful saturday morning in Konohagakure. Inoichi is with Shikaku and Chouza at Yakiniku Q, they are currently talking about Kushina, the red haired kunoichi they just met yesterday. Chouza happily eats his salted beef tongue with Welsh onion, it is also Yakiniku's specialty dish. They continued chatting until Chouza brought up the rumors he heard from yesterday.

"I heard that Kushina got kidnapped by Kumo ninjas, what do they want from her?" Chouza asked the two of them while he continued munching on his food.

"What?! my precious Kushina got kidnapped? Is she fine? Of course they would target her, she's pretty hot you know. Who knows that they had a fetish for redheads like her?"Inoichi told Chouza

Shikaku rolled his eyes "Of course she is fine, but Im pretty sure that's not reason why they kidnapped her Inoichi, I have not heard the complete details but she was safely returned to the village. Minato was the one who found her and she was brought to the hospital because of exhaustion, but I have no clue what they wanted from her, it was something confidential and only the Hokage and a few high officers know it"

"Damn Minato! If only I knew about the incident, I must have been the one who saved her" Inoichi screamed.

"Baka! You worry more about that rather than thanking him for saving Kushina? You really are a jerk Inoichi, no wonder you never had a girlfriend despite your flirty and aggressive attitude!" Mikoto heard him while she was entering the restaurant.

"Ow Miko-chan, that hurts! but a hug will do, come here babe as we give each other a warm embrace" Inoichi held her close to him and was about to embrace her.

"Get your filthy hands off me!" Mikoto glared at him, giving him an annoyed look. Inoichi gulped, remembering the last time he did the same thing to her before. He ended up staying at the hospital for one month. He removed his arms from her and sighed.

Mikoto sat in another table and called the waiter to ask for an order of their famous dish. While she was eating her food, Shikaku asked her where she is going to.

"Well, as you can see im vacant today so I decided to visit Kushina in the hospital and see if she's okay, it's been a while since I last saw her too." She was nearly finishing her food.

Inoichi took this as an oppurtunity to score points at Kushina again. "Do you mind if we go visit her too? Im pretty worried about her you know, maybe Namikaze is not taking good care of her so I'll gladly help him."

"Not a chance you're coming with me Inoichi. And Minato is a responsible person, you'll just end up being a burden to him and make things worse than before." Mikoto left the restaurant without waiting for a response from him.

Minato is on his way to the hospital. He is worried about Kushina and he wanted to know if she's doing fine. He saw Fugaku along the way and greeted him. "Fugaku! Long time no see. How are you?"

"Im fine. I heard that Kushina is on the hospital right now and Mikoto invited me to go with her. She was kinda expecting that you'll be there by now."

Minato teasingly said. "Getting along well with Mikoto huh? Did something happen between the two of you when I was gone?"

Fugaku shuddered. "Of course not, I was not expecting you of all people to jump into conclusions like that, we're just close friends."

Minato chuckled, remembering him saying those exact words when he was in denial with his feelings for Kushina. They were walking through the streets of Konoha when they noticed Inoichi and his friends approaching them.

Inoichi waved his hands at them "Oi Minato! Can we tag along? We wanted to visit Kushina too."

"Uh.. sure" Minato was a little hesitant but it was rude to say no. For some reason, he gets annoyed whenever he sees him. Meanwhile, Mikoto is currently talking to Kushina.

"Kushina, are you all right?" Mikoto looked at Kushina's weakened body, worried.

"Im fine Mikoto-chan, how 'bout you? It's been awhile since we last saw each other." Kushina smiled.

Then the hospital door to Kushina's room suddenly opened. Kushina was shocked to see Fugaku, Minato, Inoichi and the others.

"Hello Kushina-chan, we decided to visit you. How are you doing?" Minato smiled at her. Kushina looked at him and felt her cheek blush, she started to feel this way about him after the incident that happened yesterday. Mikoto stood up and approached Inoichi "Didn't you hear me awhile ago? I told you not to come here right?" she growled.

Inoichi put his hands in front of him, getting ready to shield himself from imminent blows. "Whoah! No offense Mikoto but I dont see why your so mad at me. I just wanted to visit Kushina and you dont own this place so you dont have the right to tell me whether I can visit her or not."

Mikoto growled even louder. Fugaku nodded in agreement. "He does have a point Mikoto, why dont you calm down for a bit?" Mikoto looked away from them and left the room.

Inoichi sat beside the hospital bed and stared at Kushina "Are you okay? I brought you some flowers. I thought that these might make you feel better."

Kushina smiled at him "Thankyou very much. It's been the first time someone ever gave a bouquet of flowers to me. I really appreciate it." She smelled the aroma of the flowers and asked. "Why did you pick roses instead of any other flower?"

Inoichi chuckled at her and said "It reminds me of your hair. They have the same color and it's the flower of love." he paused for a bit before continuing his statement. "I wanted to tell you that I like you Kushina, ever since the first time we met. Will you be my girl?"

Kushina was shocked to hear this. It's the first time someone ever confessed to her. Minato felt his body weakened and he decided to leave the room before she could respond to Inoichi's offer. He couldn't bear to hear what she is gonna say. Fugaku followed him outside and talked to him "Minato, what's your problem?"

"Nothing... Im fine" Minato responded without looking at him.

"But you dont look fine, you do have feelings for her, dont you?." Fugaku insisted.

Minato looked at him "Im trying my best to get rid of my feelings for her but it's not working. I know that she only sees me as a friend. I thought that seeing her happy is enough but I dont think I'll feel happy for her if she gets taken by someone else, I never felt like this before. It's the first time I have been so possesive of someone. I feel guilty about it, it's being so selfish of me."

Little did they know that Mikoto is eavesdropping. She heard every single word in their conversation. _"I knew it! Minato does like her, I wont let Inoichi win over Kushina, I have to do something."_

Meanwhile, Kushina is currently speechless. She does not know how to respond to him._ "Is he insane? I mean he only knew me yesterday, how am I going to tell him that I dont feel the same way about him? I dont want to hurt his feelings."_ she sighed.

"Inoichi, listen to me. I know that this is gonna be hard on you but im sorry to say that my heart already belongs to someone else. Im not the right girl for you, I dont deserve someone like you. I hope that someday you'll find someone who will be able to return your feelings. Im really sorry..." Kushina told Inoichi.

Inoichi felt loneliness in his heart._ "Im tired of getting rejected everytime I confess to someone."_ He replied in a sad tone "It's fine, Im used to it." he leaved the room without saying another word. Chouza and Shikaku followed him and felt sorry for him.

"I told you, girls are troublesome" Shikaku told Inoichi.

"There's a lot of girls out there, cheer up. How 'bout we have some barbecue. This time it's gonna be my treat." Chouza said.

"Im not in the mood. Leave me alone for awhile guys." Inoichi told the both of them.

As soon as they left, Minato entered the room and asked her if she's fine, she nodded in response. Minato realized that she is not in a good mood. "What happened? Is something troubling you?"

She nodded "I feel sad for Inoichi, he really looked deppressed when I rejected him, I didn't think that he will take it seriously." She turned to Minato and asked "How 'bout you? what will you feel if someone you liked rejected you?"

Minato was a little surprised by the sudden question. "I think I wont be able to take it. You can say that I will even look more deppressed than what he looked like earlier."

Kushina laughed "hahaha! I didn't know that you guys are really sensitive people. I mean come on! sometimes, we have to accept the fact that some people wont be able to return our feelings."

Mikoto went in the room when she realized that Inoichi and his friends are gone "Do you mind if I come in?"

Kushina smiled at her "You could come in Mikoto-chan. Where is Fugaku?"

"I have no idea. You know him, he disappears without a word. Probably got tired from all the drama earlier. How's your recovery Kushina?"

"I feel great but the nurse insists that I must stay here. Speaking of them, they're already here to give me an examination." She said as the nurse entered.

"Excuse me but can you leave us for awhile?" The nurse asked the two of them.

"Of course." They replied. They went out of the room and waited until the nurse was done examining Kushina. When the nurse was finished, she told them that Kushina could be released today.

"Im finally getting out of this stupid hospital dattebane! then Im going to continue my training tomorrow. Im going to catch up on Minato in no time!" Kushina happily announced.

"As if.." Minato murmured but it was loud enough for Kushina to hear. Mikoto laughed, she couldn't help herself. They are so cute to watch especially when they are arguing with each other.

"Dont get so overconfident blondie, I'll become Hokage before you do. I'll train harder everyday then I'll become stronger than you." Kushina pointed a finger on him.

"Brag all you want Kushina, no one's stopping you. Wanna bet? If I become Hokage before you do, you'll do whatever I'll say." Minato smiled at the possibilities.

"Hmph.. dont underestimate me Namikaze, you'll get your butt whipped if I win, got it?" Kushina smirked.

"Im not going to lose." Minato said with determination in his eyes.

"From now on, we're rivals" Kushina said while she was packing her things and getting ready to leave the hospital. They were already outside the hospital when Kushina suddenly thought of something.

"Let's start with who will master the summoning jutsu first."

Mikoto sighed. _"If my guess is right, they're gonna train their butts off tomorrow."_

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_**I hope you liked it**_** :)**  
To be continued...

Hugs and Kissed XD


	8. Revenge

Sorry for the long wait and thankyou for the reviews and follows! :) This is the longest chapter I have written so far. About the adventure and action that I said a chapter ago, it's going to be postponed for two chapters.

I do not own Naruto... It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

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Chapter Eight

Revenge

Both Kushina and Minato was excited to train. They arrived at the training grounds an hour earlier before their sensei did. "Teme! what's taking him so long?" Kushina grumbled.

"Dont blame sensei, it's your fault for arriving too early." Minato answered.

"Hmmph! Your the one to talk! would you care to explain why you're here?" Kushina snarled.

"At least im not as impatient as you are, im used to it anyway. I always arrive here an hour early. I bet it's your first time, you always come here late as I remember and sensei never did scold you for that or even get annoyed by it." Minato said while punching the dummies.

"Why are you being so rude to me today, huh Namikaze?" Kushina asked.

"Im not being rude, Im just stating the truth. Sensei is like a father to me and I just wanted to be reasonable, you must give him a little respect." Minato explained and smiled at her warmly.

"Yeah whatever!" Kushina replied in an annoyed tone. She relaxed her back on the tree while she recalled the past events that happened yesterday night.

_Flashback:_

_Kushina was on her way home when she saw Jiraiya at the hotsprings, peeping through a little hole._

_"What's Jiraiya-sensei doing?" She watched him from afar and about a few minutes later, a woman with blonde hair and big tits punched the wall which led Jiraiya fall on his feet._

_"What amazing strength!" Kushina thought._

_"JIRAIYA! You pervert! You'll pay for this! I dont care if I end up killing you in the process" the blonde girl shouted while clenching her fists._

_"oooh... she's scary" Kushina thought as she continued watching her beating up Jiraiya. Upon learning that Jiraiya is a pervert, she lost her respect to him. _

_"Tsunade please! Have mercy on a helpless man who is totally mesmerized by your beauty. Who knows what those ladies out there will do if they knew that Konoha's greatest hearthrob was no longer alive?" Jiraiya pleaded._

_"And when did you become hearthrob Jiraiya?! Only women with their false teeth will fall for an idiotic pervert like you!" Tsunade left the hotsprings and did not utter a single word to him again. She really looked mad and pissed off._

_end of flashback..._

"Hey Minato!" Kushina called out to him.

"Yeah? what is it?" Minato walked to her side and sat down on the grass.

"I was wondering if you knew that Jiraiya-sensei is a pervert, I just found out yesterday and I cant help but ask if you knew about it." Kushina said while playing with her hair.

"Yeah... sorry if I didn't tell you about it, I was planning on warning you about that but it kinda slipped out of my mind..." Minato scratched his head.

"Nah, it's ok but dont he dare to try stupid stuff with me or he'll get it!" Kushina clenched her fists.

"Dont worry Kushina-chan, I'll promise that he wont do some pervish things to you. I wont allow it, if ever he did something to you, I'll beat him up to shreds." Minato told her.

Kushina was relieved, she feels secured whenever she is with him. "You're kinda weird sometimes ya know?"

"Why do you say so?" Minato asked.

"It's because sometimes you act rude then suddenly you become overprotective of me. When I think about it, our relationship is kinda unique. We are bestfriends and at the same time, rivals." Kushina chuckled.

"You are kinda weird too, I never met a girl like you before. You're almost like a boy. You never did payed attention on what you looked like or how you act. You focused more on ninja training and pursuing your dream on becoming the Hokage." Minato said.

Kushina was a bit hurt with what he said _"So im like a boy huh? He just sees me as a buddy."_

"Would you prefer it if I acted a little more feminine and change my attitude and behaviour?" she said in a sad tone.

"It does not mean if you are like a boy then it's a negative thing. Just stay as you are, that's what makes you special. You dont need to change anything about yourself." Minato told her with a warm smile. It was his way to tell her that he meant everything he said.

Kushina was a little bit sleepy, she woke up too early today. She yawned and a few moments later, she felt her head landing on Minato's shoulder and she was fast asleep. Minato didn't mind but he liked the way it made him felt when Kushina and he are making contact. He always felt connected to her. Minato didn't move that much so that he wouldn't wake her up. While observing her sleep, he didn't realize that he was already smiling. He never understood why the boys would pick on her when they were still at the academy. She is unconventionally beautiful, and the thing that he loved the most about her is her cheerful attitude and her long beautiful red hair.

Jiraiya observed them from a distance, not wanting to disturb their moment, but as soon as Kushina woke up from her nap, she sensed him. She stretched her back, letting out a yawn and stood up to approach him.

"Hey there Sensei, let's start our training! I've been waiting for years ya know! Teach me the summoning technique, I made a bet with Minato that I will be able to master that technique before he does." Kushina said enthusiastically.

"Tsch.. Are you sure with this? Minato is a genious remember?" Jiraiya asked.

"Hmph! That blondie is no match for me. So what if he is a genious? I can beat him fair and square if I want to." Kushina bragged proudly.

"Since you are so excited to learn it, I guess I have no choice but to teach it to you." Jiraiya sighed.

Jiraiya explained all the things that Kushina is supposed to do. She followed all of his steps but had a hard time during the final step.

Her first attempt of the summoning technique was a complete failure. She summoned a tadpole, not even a frog. All of them sweatdropped.

Minato was refraining himself from laughing but he could not stop it. "Hahaha! I couldn't think of anything worse"

Kushina was losing her confidence. She is so embarrassed. _"Kushina! is that all you can do? brag and not standing up for your words."_ She thought as a tear escaped from her eyes. What hurts her the most is not about her failure, but seeing her bestfriend laughing at her.

"Shut up and stop laughing! You are such a jerk sometimes! Just wait and you'll see! I'll be able to master this jutsu before you do!" Kushina angrily shouted at him as she ran away from them, looking for a quiet place to train.

"What did I do now?" Minato wondered while his sensei made a facepalm.

"You should watch what your saying. Even though she puts on a tough act, she is sensitive too." Jiraiya explained.

"Then what should I do? She'll just push me away if she saw me following her." Minato replied.

"Of course she'll act that way because she was hurt by your actions but at least you showed her that you tried to apologize." Jiraiya said.

Minato left the training grounds and searched for her. _"Where could she possibly ran off to? hmmm... maybe she's at the ramen shop."_

When he finally reached the ramen shop, he went in and ask Teuchi if he saw Kushina.

"Nope, I haven't seen her today. Sorry about that, would you like to take a break and grab some ramen?" Teuchi asked.

"Im sorry but I'll have to pass, Im in a hurry right now." Minato said as he was running, thinking of all the possible places that Kushina might go to.

He searched everywhere in Konoha but had no hopes on finding her. _"If only I have been more sensitive to her feelings then this shouldn't have happened."_

He decided to go to the river, the place where they made their pinky swear. While he was reminiscing the past memories that happened in this place, he saw a girl throwing pebbles at the water. She was wearing a jacket with a hood so he wasn't able to see her face. _"She looks sad."_ Minato tried to approach her and talk to her.

"Are you alright?" Minato asked the girl while he sat down on the grass beside her.

"Go away baka!" a familiar voice replied.

"Im just trying to help you." Minato said.

"I dont need your help, go away Minato!" she said loudly.

Minato just realized something. That's why she feels familiar to him, she had the same voice as the girl she was searching for. "Kushina, is that you? I didn't recognize you because of your hood." Minato smiled at her, he was so relieved to see her.

"Duh? You're such an idio-" Minato cut her sentence and embraced her. "Im so glad to find you, I was so worried about you. Im so sorry about earlier." Kushina returned his hug and whispered to him "How could I stay angry with my bestfriend. I have to apologize too, for making you worry about me."

Minato broke the hug and kissed her on the forehead. "Lets get back to training shall we?"

Kushina did not reply, she was still in shock. It was the first time someone kissed her, even if it was just on the forehead. She felt her face go red and she kept shuddering. Minato stared at her and asked "Are you sick? You dont seem so well."

Kushina remained silent for a long time. Minato was starting to worry about her. She was able to recover from what happened after 15 minutes. "Umm... what's going on?" Kushina wondered when she saw Minato's worried face.

"Are you sure you're fine?" Minato asked.

"Of course I am dattebane!" Kushina said while looking away from him. She just grabbed him on his wrists and dragged him all the way to the ramen house.

"2 orders of Miso ramen please!" Kushina told Teuchi.

"Coming right up!" Teuchi happily said while he was preparing some ramen.

"Kushina, you're about to graduate right? so its all on the house."

Kushina's eyes sparkled like those of a puppy "Really!? Thankyou so much Teuchi-san!"

Minato looked at her and asked. "When is your graduation by the way?"

"Hmm... a week from now I guess." Kushina said while trying to remember the exact date of their graduation.

"Im so excited to be genin already, it's like having my first step into becoming the Hokage!" Kushina squeeled. She pointed a finger on Minato and said "You're coming right?"

"Of course I am, but Im not sure yet, there might be missions assigned to me at that day, but I'll find a way so that I would be able to attend your graduation." Minato said.

Kushina continued eating her ramen and was already at her fourth bowl, Minato couldn't help but laugh at her incredible appetite. He does not know why but she looks so cute and adorable to him when she slurps on her ramen happily. Kushina shot a glare at him "What are you laughing at? What's so funny?"

Minato scratched the back of his head and smiled. "Nothing, Im just wondering how a small girl like you can have a big appetite."

Kushina rolled her eyes at the statement. "Tsch, and what's so funny about that? Im hungry ya know, and it shouldn't matter to you. You're not paying for it anyway." The truth was, she was kinda embarrased herself. It was kinda unfeminine to the boys when a girl eats her full. She decided to stop at her fourth bowl and leave the ramen shop even though deep inside she wanted another bowl.

"I thought you're hungry?" Minato asked her.

"Im not anymore. Let's go train already!" Kushina said.

When they arrived at the training grounds, Jiraiya was gone. "Where could that pervy sage ran off to?" Kushina said while searching through the bushes.

"Pervy sage?" Minato raised an eyebrow.

"I mean Jiraiya, I just came up with a nickname that fits him." Kushina replied.

They heard a rustling sound coming from the trees, Kushina threw a kunai in the direction where they heard the noise, then a voice spoke. "Hey there! Did you miss me. Sorry about earlier, I was doing my research while the two of you were gone." Out of the trees, Jiraiya appeared.

Kushina noticed a girl beside him, she has long brown hair and green eyes. She was about to ask Jiraiya who she was but the girl suddenly hugged Minato and squeeled. "Minato! Im so glad to see you!" Minato was trying to brush her off but she had a strong grip on him. Kushina was enraged at the girl "Hey there! who are you and what do you want from him?" Kushina shouted at the girl.

The girl glared at Kushina and rolled her eyes, then she returned her attention to Minato and leaned closer to him, she was about to kiss him. Minato was trying his best to escape her grip without hurting her.

"What do you think you're doing to him?" Kushina shouted at the girl when they were about to kiss. The girl let go of Minato and approached Kushina. "What do you want ugly? Why do have to interfere?"

Kushina was so mad at her she couldn't stop herself and she shouted at her. "Stop flirting with him and go back to where you came from, whore."

"Who are you to boss me around? I will do whatever I want. And besides, you are not his girlfriend so stay back!" She shouted at her.

Jiraiya patted Minato's shoulder "You are one lucky boy, two pretty girls are fighting over you." Minato gave a death glare at him . "This would not happen if you didn't bring her here."

"She begged me to you know, she told me that she was a close friend of yours. I didn't know that she was one of your fangirls." Jiraiya explained. They continued to watch the two girls in front of them.

"Why you?! What did you just call me?!" Kushina screamed.

"Whirlpool dog! You are just an outsider! Go back to that stupid country of yours! Oh yeah, I forgot. You're country was destroyed! Good for you! I hope they all rot in hell!" The girl said loud and clear for Kushina to hear.

Kushina felt her knees trembling, she bursted into tears while remembering the events that happened when the tragedy happened. All of her relatives and close friends died, she was the only survivor.

"Cry baby!" The girl shouted at her and pulled Kushina's hair. "You're so pathetic!"

Minato couldn't stand her anymore. He felt the urge to revenge for Kushina. "Let go of Kushina this instant and apologize to her!"

"What if I dont want to? It's not like you can hurt me or anything." She went closer to Minato and started to flirt with him again. "Let's leave her alone, she's not worth it anyway. Why would you be with her if you can spend time with me?"

"Let go of me! Dont you dare to speak at Kushina that way again! If you do so, I will not hesitate to lay a hand on you! I am not interested at you and I will never be." Minato shouted at her.

Mikuru started to cry and tell him "I hate you Namikaze!" After saying those words, she left them and ran away. When she was gone, Minato approached Kushina and comforted her. He wiped away her tears and said. "Im sorry about what happened. I wont let her do that to you again." Kushina hugged him and cried. She buried her face on his chest and soaked his jacket with tears. Minato rubbed her back comfortingly.

Meanwhile, Mikuru was planning on running away from the village, she didn't want to face Minato again, even though she would be branded as rogue ninja as it's consequence. At this moment, all she was thinking about was revenge. "Just you wait Minato, this is not the end of it."

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I hope you liked it!

The next chapter is about Kushina being a genin and a lot more of surprising stuff so stay tuned!

To be continued...

Hugs and Kisses XD


	9. Favor

I would like to thank kushina-minato-ROCK for that review. You dont know how glad I felt, I was flattered. Thanks for the reviews, follows and favorites. It really makes my day complete. Here's chapter nine. I hope you liked it :)

I do not own Naruto... It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

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Chapter Nine

Favor

Minato and Kushina has been practicing on their jutsu for almost a week. Both of them are showing progress but Minato is always ahead of her, no matter how hard she tries. "Argh! It's so frustrating! Why do you have to be a genious?! You always excell at everything!" Kushina screamed.

Minato chuckled "Dont stress out yourself Kushina, tomorrow is a special day for you, remember?."

"Important day?" Kushina tried to remember what event it is tomorrow. After a few seconds, she suddenly recalled about it. "Oh yeah! Tomorrow is my graduation! I cant believe I totally forgot about it because of this stupid jutsu."

Minato laughed and told her "Giving up already? Remember the bet? I said that you should do whatever I say if I win."

Kushina growled at Minato for reminding her about the stupid bet she made. "I wished I didn't bet about this but I still have my dignity and I never go back on my word. I wont lose to you! "

Jiraiya was sitting near the bushes, staring at something intently. Minato wondered on what he was looking at so he took a peek too. When he saw that his sensei is spying on girls who are swimming in the river with their bikinis on, he scratched the back of his head and sighed _"Serves me right for even wondering, he's always up to no good."_

Kushina was standing behind them with her arms crossed. "It would not surprise me if it was only Pervy Sage who was peeking at the girls but I didn't expect you to do it too. Dont tell me you got influenced by that pervert." Kushina glared at Minato.

"No! It's not what you think it is! I was just curious about-" Minato was cut off his sentence when Kushina suddenly interrupted him.

"So you were spying then?! I never thought that you could do something terrible like this!" Kushina shouted and began to leave.

Minato was about to follow her and explain for himself but before he got to do it, Kushina shouted "Stop right there! Stop following me! I dont want to see you at my graduation either! Im so disappointed in you!"

Kushina ran as fast as she could and returned to her house. When she got inside of her room she shut the door and laughed her hardest "Hahaha! That idiot! I got to say, I really got better at acting. His face was priceless! I think he forgot its April 1 today. Pranking him is just so fun!"

She didn't know that Minato was following her all along. He sneaked quietly through her window "You're up to your old tricks again, I should've known better. You're so mean!" Minato said while trying to act like a kid. Kushina just continued laughing and opened the window so that he could enter her room.

"Im really sorry! I just cant resist it! Sorry for pranking you. You're still going to attend my graduation right?" Kushina said with cute puppy eyes.

Minato wanted to get back at her so he said. "I think I've changed my mind. I forgot to tell you that Shikamaru and the others invited me to a party, sorry about that"

Kushina turned away from Minato and said "They're more important to you than I do huh? I wont stop you, do whatever you want!" Kushina left the room and went downstairs. She is setting up some trap for Minato just in case he follows her.

Minato just stayed at her room, thinking that Kushina is just joking around him. But when he realized that Kushina did not return, he suspected that maybe she's really mad at him, so he decided to go downstairs to check if she was fine. When he stepped on the staircase, he slipped and fell on his head._ "Why is it so slippery?"_ After falling from the stairs, Kushina laughed at him.

"That's what you get for messing with me, you think I didn't know that you were trying to get back at me earlier? serves you right!" Kushina said as she approached him. She went closer to him and noticed that he was motionless. She was getting worried. "Hey! are you fine?"

There was no response from him. Then she saw blood coming from his head, she was trembling with fear. "Did I actually kill him?" She started to cry. She buried her face on his chest. "Dont leave me! Im so sorry!" She was already crying so hard but she still got no response from him.

Minato's lips was curving up into a smile. Kushina noticed it and she stopped crying. When Minato finally opened his eyes, he saw Kushina's face crying at him. Kushina was so glad and she hugged him "Im so glad you're fine!"

Minato chuckled "Haha! Got you! April Fools!"

Minato was expecting Kushina to be angry at him for it but instead, she smiled at him. "Idiot! Dont do that ever again! You really got me worried. Im just so glad you're safe."

"For your information it's you who made those stairs so slippery, good thing I brought a packet of ketchup with me. Without it, I wouldn't have been able to pull it off."

Kushina looked at the blood stains on the floor then she examined it. "Hey! This is ketchup! Damn you!"

"I had no idea that pranking people was fun! I always behaved myself so I never knew." Minato said.

"Pranking people was my specialty then you're just gonna take it away from me just like that! No fair!" Kushina looked at her clock and noticed that it was getting late.

"Hey Minato, do you want me to prepare something to eat? It's almost dinner time."

"It's okay, i'm not that hungry yet anyway." Minato tried to refuse the offer but his stomach suddenly rumbled.

"What were you saying again?" Kushina asked him.

Minato sighed. "Okay then, but I'll help you prepare the food."

"If that's what you want then you can help me prepare. hmmm... what should I cook? ramen or curry? Can you help me decide?" She looked at Minato.

"I think I'll choose curry, we always eat ramen at Ichiraku's. We should try something different."

"You do have a point." Kushina said while she tied her hair up into a bun and wore an apron.

Minato was excited to taste Kushina's cooking. Being with her like this, it's like they are already a couple. _"I wonder what it would be like if we got married someday... Argh! stop thinking of stupid things Minato! You are just friends with her remember?"_ Minato shaked his head left and right and focused on slicing the vegetables and meat. When he was done, Kushina took care of the cooking.

Minato waited at the table. When the food was ready, Kushina brought it to the table and she sat down."Thankyou for helping me, Let's dig in!"

Minato took his chopsticks and tasted the curry. He was surprised upon tasting it, he didn't know that Kushina was a good cook.

"This is delicious Kushina! I think you even cook better than my mom."

Kushina smiled at him and said "Thankyou! Im glad you liked it. I got used to living all by myself so I learned how to cook my own food." As soon as they finished eating, Minato had to leave because it was getting dark.

The next morning, Kushina woke up early and prepared herself for an important event. She was finally going to graduate. "From now on, Im a full fledged ninja!"

She was walking through the streets of Konoha happily, she was so excited. When she finally arrived at the classroom, Mikoto hugged her. "Kushina, we're going to graduate already! We wont be able to see each other as often. Im going to miss you!"

Kushina returned the hug and told her "You sound like im going to die Mikoto-chan, I'll visit you from time to time, dont worry."

Mikoto smiled and held Kushina's hand and sat at the benches. When the adviser came in, the class got quiet and the teacher told them that they should be able to do the Clone Jutsu. If they failed to do so, they wont be able to graduate.

Kushina thanked her stars that she was able to master it during her training, thanks to Jiraiya.

They were called one by one by their teacher, and once they were able to perform the jutsu, they would be given a hitai-ate (forehead protector) as a sign that they are fully fledged shinobi.

When Kushina's name was called, she went in front of the class. She can hear other people whispering that she wont be able to do it. _"I'll show them!"_ She made a hand sign and performed the jutsu. She was able to make two perfect replications of herself. She was smiling at them and their adviser patted her head and said "Good job Kushina!". Her teacher handed over her hitai-ate and she happily left the room. When she was already outside, she took a few glances at the academy. It is her last day here in the academy and she cherished the memorable things that happened here. She felt someone tap her shoulder, she turned around and saw Minato. He was holding a bouquet of flowers and he gave it to her.

"Congratulations!" Minato said.

Out of happiness, Kushina embraced Minato. "Thankyou for everything." He wrapped his arms around her and they stayed like that.

They did not realize that all of the parents and the graduates were staring at them. Not until one classmate of theirs interfered. "I didn't know that you were already dating Kushina." Minato broke free from the hug and felt embarassed.

"Uhh.. it's no..not like tha.. that." He was stuttering. Kushina laughed at him.

"Why do you care so much of what the others might think, let them be that way." Kushina grabbed Minato's arm and they leaved the academy like nothing happened.

Mikoto and Fugaku approached them. "Hey there Minato! Long time no see. How 'bout the four of us go somewhere and grab something to eat?" Fugaku asked.

"Where should we go then?... how about Yakiniku Q? How does that sound?" Minato replied.

Kushina grumbled. "I still want to eat at Ichiraku's you know?"

Mikoto laughed "but Kushina, we always eat there. We must at least try something different since this is a special day for the three of us."

"Okay, It's not like I have a choice." Kushina agreed.

When they arrived at Yakiniku Q, the three of them asked Minato about what it is like to be a genin and what kind of missions are being assigned to newly graduates. Minato told them about it and they were kinda disappointed with his answer.

"So you mean we're gonna do missions like babysitting and retrieving lost cats as our mission? Oh man that's a bore!" Kushina was expecting cool missions like assasination and fighting the bad guys like what older ninjas do.

"And also you have to pass a test that your sensei will give. It is a difficult test and there is a chance of 66% that you will fail. When that happens, you will be sent back to the academy." Minato said while chewing on his barbeque.

All of them sighed. "Then that means only a few of the graduates will become genin." Mikoto said.

"That's right, only 9 out of the 27 gradutes will pass. They will only choose the best ones." Minato explained further.

Kushina is clenching her fists, determination can be seen in her eyes. "I'll do whatever it takes so that I would pass this exam, no matter how difficult it may be, I would never give up. We can do this!"

Mikoto and Fugaku was encouraged by her words. Worrying over the situation is not going to help them, instead they should take this as a challenge to prove that they are capable of surpassing the others. Being strong and wise is not enough, it takes more than that. "Have confidence in yourselves guys! Kushina is right, failing is not an option." Mikoto said.

Minato couldn't help but smile at her. _"Kushina, you really are something."_ Kushina took notice of this and she asked.

"Why are you smiling like an idiot for?"

"Umm... nothing..." Minato said while he looked away from her. _"Why does it have to be so awkward?"_

Mikoto giggled "Im sensing something fishy around here."

Fugaku chuckled too, all of them knew about Minato's feelings towards Kushina except for the one who is being admired, of course.

Minato suddenly turned red from all the embarassment. Kushina was observing him and she placed a hand on his forehead. "Are you sick or something? If you're not feeling well then you must go rest at home."

Minato is having butterflies in his stomach again. Minato was surprised when Kushina suddenly hugged him "This is all my fault, isn't it?"

Minato didn't know how to respond, he was already panicking _"So she knew that I like her? What am I gonna do now?"_

"You must've bumped your head too hard on the floor yesterday that's why you're getting sick, im so sorry." Kushina apologized.

All of them sweatdropped. _"It amazes me how you could be so naive sometimes Kushina-chan"_ Mikoto thought while Fugaku sighed and continued eating his barbecue on his plate. Minato was relieved_ "I thought she found out, im just worrying over nothing"_

When it was getting dark, they said good luck to each other and went to their own homes.

It was a sunny and hot morning at Konoha. Kushina woke up and saw an X mark on her calendar, she remembered that something important will be anounced today. "We're having an orientation, I must get ready and make a good impression of myself to our sensei, whoever he is." She laughed evily.

While she was on her way to school, she saw Mikoto and they chatted about things. Like what is gonna happen today at the orientation and all sorts of ninja stuff they can think about.

When they finally arrived at school, their teacher entered the room while holding a folder at left hand. He is going to announce something important.

"Goodmorning class! You are all gathered here today for an important meeting. Each and everyone of you is going to have their own squad. Each squad consists of 3 members and will be assigned to a jounin or an elite ninja. I am here to announce the squads."

He flipped the cover of the folder and read "Team 7!" Kushina was not listening to him, not until she heard her named being called.

"Kushina Uzumaki"

She raised her head and replied "Yes?"

But her teacher did not respond, instead he called another name

"Fugaku Uchiha and the last member of your squad will be Ken Sarutobi"

"The three of you are the members of Squad 7, you will meet your jonin teacher in this classroom later, understood?"

The three of them replied "Understood"

Their teacher kept on announcing the squads and the three of them waited patiently at the classroom for almost one hour after the orientation. They were all getting impatient.

Kushina grumbled "What's taking him so long? All of the other students met their teacher already except for us!"

Fugaku nodded in agreement with her. Ken just stood there, staring at Kushina not worrying whether their sensei will arrive or not. All he wanted is to spend time with her.

After one hour and fifteen minutes, their teacher finally arrived. Kushina glared at him and looked away. Their teacher sighed. He has grayish white hair and he is tall but not as tall as Jiraiya. He scratched the back of his head "Sorry for being late. I was helping an old lady cross the street this morning."

All of them didn't believe his excuse. Fugaku told in his mind_ "If he is going to make up an excuse, he should've made it realistic, that was just so lame."_

Their sensei just smiled and he speaked. "Before we start, we should be familiarized by each other first. We will introduce ourselves by our name, then tell me about your hobbies, your likes and dislikes and your expectations. For those who dont know me, my name is Sakumo Hatake. My hobbies are ninja training and reading. Im expecting all of you to behave during our missions, understood?"

"Anyone who wants to go next? hmm... how about you? the girl with the red hair." He pointed at Kushina.

Kushina stood up from her seat "My name is Kushina Uzumaki. My hobbies are pranking people and training my butt off. I like all sorts of ramen and my favorite restaurant in Konoha is Ichiraku's, they serve the best ramen in the world! I dislike people who make fun of me and who thinks that they better than me but i'll prove them wrong because my dream is becoming the Hokage and I would do whatever it takes to reach my dream!" Kushina announced proudly.

Hatake Sakumo smiled at her, _"She is confident and determined, Im already liking this student."_

"Introduce yourself, the boy with black hair. You are an Uchiha right?" He looked at Fugaku.

"My name is Fugaku Uchiha. I have no hobby in particular and I dislike a lot of things. As for my dream, I dont have one. Im going to be the clan's next leader after all. There's no point of having one. That's all I wanted to say."

Sakumo Hatake proceded to the next member in the squad. "And lastly?"

Ken stood up, just like Kushina did. "My name is Ken Sarutobi. My hobbies are playing stone skipping and helping out my dad on his work. I like reading comic books during my freetime and I dislike a certain blonde in our class. I would rather keep my dream to myself." He said as he looked at Kushina.

Sakumo stood up "I need to discuss something very important to all of you. Tomorrow, we're going to have a test in order to assess whether you are qualified in being a genin or not. If you fail, you will be sent back to the academy. Be ready for tomorrow and meet me by the training grounds at exactly 5:30 in the morning. Dont be late. This is the end of our discussion. See you all tomorrow."

After their meeting, Kushina was getting nervous and excited at the same time. She headed straight to the training grounds so that she could prepare for tomorrow. She did not expect to see Minato there. He was creating a ball of chakra in his hand. Kushina raised her eyebrow and asked "What are you doing?"

Minato paused for a while and approached her. "Hello Kushina! Im just working on a new jutsu."

Kushina noticed that Minato's hand was trembling and he was extremely exhausted. "So? you're having a hard time mastering a jutsu? that's a first."

"Im not mastering a jutsu, im inventing one." Minato explained while creating a spiral ball of chakra on his hand.

Kushina was amazed at Minato, while she was watching him, an idea appeared on her mind. "Hey Minato!"

Minato stopped and looked at her "What is it?"

"Im kinda nervous about tomorrow. I have a favor to ask of you." She looked at Minato with cute puppy eyes.

"Okay then, what do you want? Im kinda busy on working on this jutsu and Jiraiya sensei is going to kill me if he found out that I agreed helping you in your training. I refused to go with him awhile ago on his research trips and he was kinda disappointed with it. He said that if he found me slacking off, he will punish me." Minato explained.

Kushina was looking at her fingers as she played with them. "Umm.. would you help me train? I know that this is so much to ask of you but I'll do whatever you want if you agree, just name it."

Minato smiled. "Deal, but if my training did help you pass the exam, would you go out with me?"

Kushina's jaw dropped. "Say what?!"

end of chapter...

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to be continued...

Im not gonna update for quite a while. Finals are coming up, I need to prepare as well.

Hugs and Kisses :)


	10. Test

Thankyou for that review Red Hot Habanero! I am glad you like it. Here is chapter 10! :) I apologize if ever there are some spelling or grammar errors here, I didn't have much time to edit it... Enjoy!

I do not own Naruto... It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

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Chapter Ten

Test

Kushina was frozen into place, not knowing what to do. "Say what?!" was the only words she was able to utter. She was confused but it didn't meant that she wanted to reject the offer. At least he did not make her do anything foolish or stupid. She is wondering why of all the girls in Konoha, he would ask her. That was just strange because she knew that Minato just saw her as a friend and he said it himself, she is boyish and unfeminine.

Minato is hoping that she would agree or at least politely refuse the offer rather than avoiding him or making fun of him, that would be plain torture. As much as he wanted to take the words back, he couldn't. He is wondering to himself, _"Why do I have to follow that pervert's advice, thanks to him Im stuck in this awkward situation."_

_flashback:_

_Yesterday afternoon_

_"Hello there Jiraiya-sensei, sorry if I am late today. I have to attend Kushina-chan's graduation." Minato said as he was running towards him._

_"Oh that's okay. I heard from the rumors that you were getting lovey-dovey with each other. Are you hiding something from me huh?" Jiraiya asked._

_Minato turned red. "Dont believe those rumors sensei, we are just friends."_

_"Hehe... A lot of girls are heads over heels over you and you cant bring yourself to confess to her, you're so lame Minato!" Jiraiya laughed._

_"Im waiting for the right oppurtunity sensei, and it's not like she likes me back." Minato said as he sat on the grass beside Jiraiya._

_"There's one way you could confess to her and find out if she really likes you back." Jiraiya told Minato._

_"Really? How?" Minato was interested to know._

_"Ask her out on a date, the tough part is if she refuses you. Take advantage of a situation where she wont be able to refuse your offer."_

_Minato looked at his sensei and said. "Maybe I'll try that."_

_end of flashback..._

Minato is currently waiting patiently for her response.

"So? would you accept or not?" Minato asked.

Kushina finally got back to her senses. "Oh Minato! what were you asking again?"

Minato sighed. "I said do you agree to go out with me or not?"

Kushina is playing with her fingers, not knowing how to repond to him. "Umm.. su-sure.. bu-but wh-why me?"

Minato held her by the hand and stared at her violet eyes "It's because there's a festival tomorrow and I need someone to accompany me. Since my mother will be busy on a meeting tomorrow, I chose you because you are my closest friend."

Kushina was staring at his eyes too, a tingling sensation went through her spine as their eyes met. She never felt like this before. It was the first time that she looked into a person's eyes and not wanting to break free from it. She felt attached and at the same time lost in his eyes.

"You have beautiful eyes ya know." Kushina said.

Minato chuckled, feeling the same way about her. He could stare at those amethyst eyes all day but he has to train Kushina now so he looked away and said "Let's start our training then"

Kushina blushed and replied "Okay" She felt a little embarrassed from their eye to eye contact earlier. _"Damn you Namikaze, giving me butterflies again!"_

They went near the river and Minato asked her "What kind of training do you want to learn from me today?"

"Something useful for the test sensei is going to give us tomorrow." Kushina replied as she sat on the grass and throwing some pebbles at the river.

Minato looked at her and whispered something. "I'll give you a hint, it's about teamwork and stuff like that. Dont tell anyone I gave you the message behind this test."

Kushina just raised an eyebrow, confused. "What are you saying? I dont get it ya know? How would teamwork help us tomorrow?"

Minato just smiled at her and said. "Trust me on this, you'll find out sooner or later."

Kushina's face showed a confused look, still not getting the hang of what Minato is trying to say but she didn't mind asking anymore questions. It would only make her more confused.

"We will start our training for today, let's spar!" Minato gave her a hand to help her stand. Kushina smiled and gladly accepted his hand and she formed her stance.

Minato distanced himself from her and waited for Kushina to make her first move. After minutes of waiting, the two of them did not make a move. Kushina was getting impatient so she decided to ran towards him with a kunai on her right hand. As she charged towards him, he suddenly disappeared and he was no longer at sight.

Kushina looked around her. "Where could he possibly be hiding?"

She formed a hand seal and made a shadow clone. Seven shadow clones appeared and she ordered them to scatter and search for him. As they were searching through the woods, Kushina's shadow clone did not notice a kunai being thrown at her. It was too late when she noticed it and she was not able to dodge it. The clone disappeared in a puff of smoke. Minato ran quickly "Darn it! I cant believe I fell for that trick! I must get away from here, she already knows where I am hiding."

Kushina ran to the direction where one of her shadow clones found him. She stumbled across a path where she could see a bowl of ramen on the ground. "Yum! I wonder who dropped this but who cares? A ramen is a ramen and im going to devour it! hehehe!"

As she was about to eat her ramen bowl, a kunai was already at her throath, Minato was standing behind her. Kushina gasped and her eyes began to widen.

"Never let your guard down Kushina, and dont fall for obvious tricks such as these. If I was an enemy, you would have probably died by now. Stay alert!" Minato told her while he released his grip on her and returned his kunai inside the bag.

Kushina just rolled her eyes at him and said. "Tsch! you know that I cant resist ramen! Why are you using such dirty tricks? You should fight me head on, isn't that right?"

Minato just laughed at her. "Yeah right... we are ninja Kushina or have you forgotten? We attack our targets stealthily, not head on and besides didn't it even it cross your mind why a ramen is there when it is not supposed to? Didn't you find it strange at all?"

Kushina glared at him "Ok! I get it Mr. Smarty Pants! You are all smart and talented while I am the girl who everybody mocks and has no special skill at all, you might be thinking that Im no match for somone like you." Kushina turned away from him and walked away, she really looked pissed off.

Minato felt sad for her, as she turned away from him, he grabbed her by her wrists and told her "That's not what I meant at all! I have always admired you for your courage and confidence in yourself. I would have never been able to bear all the things you experienced, like when your village was destroyed and when our classmates were bullying and making fun of you but you still stood strong. You are way more amazing than I am. You are someone special to me that's why I would never look down at you no matter what!" Minato was surprised at his own words _"Did I actually confessed to her?"_

Kushina was overjoyed to hear that Minato is acknowledging her but she lingered at the word _special. "What could he possibly mean by special? It could mean a lot of things like special friend or a special someone." _Kushina blushed at the thought while shaking it off. _"Dont think of those things! He would never fall for someone like you!"_

Kushina stared at him and told him "Thanks for telling me that... Im also sorry for being a little mad earlier... when you said about me being special, it is as a friend or something else?"

Minato smiled at her and said "Yeah... probably, let's get back to our training shall we?" He was trying to avoid the question.

"Hmph! Avoiding the question, are we? but you are right, we must resume our training." Kushina said as she created a shadow clone and dispersed. She is planning a sneak attack, following what Minato said about stealth. Once she was already far away from him, she sent her shadow clone to keep a good eye on him and be the bait for her trap. She is setting up a trap right now, all that's left to do is to lure Minato into it.

Kushina waited patiently and hid herself in the bushes. Her shadow clone was able to drag him until here. They are currently fighting with each other, using kunai bombs and taijutsu. They were equal in strength and no one is losing or getting hit by this point. When Minato was near the tree he noticed a strand of red hair by the bushes. "So that's where the real you is hiding" he said as he threw a shuriken at her.

Kushina backflipped in the air as she was trying to dodge it. She landed in front of him and realized that there was no use of using strategy against a smart ass like him. "There's no other choice but to attack you head on I guess."

She charged towards him with a great amount of speed, she was about to lay a punch at him but he shielded the blow with his arms. Even though it reduced the damage of the punch, it really hurts.

"Man! I didn't know you could punch that hard. I wont go easy on you this time." Minato said as he reached out a kunai from his weapon bag and formed a stance.

Kushina reached out a kunai too. "Im ready whenever you are!"

Minato and Kushina charged towards each other at the same time but Kushina cannot match his speed and agility. It's on a whole different leaugue. Kushina was surprised _"Even Jounin cant do that! How could he possibly.."_ Kushina turned her head and noticed that he was already behind her. "Darn it!" Kushina tried her best to get away from him but she couldnt.

Minato was about to stab her with his kunai when he remembered that she was fighting Kushina. He knew that he would regret it later if she really got hurt so he stopped his attack even though he is aware that this was for her training.

Kushina was surprised though, "Why did you stop from attacking me earlier?"

Minato lowered his head and let out a sigh. " I think it would be better if you asked someone else to train you."

Kushina gave a confused look. "Why? Am I too weak for you?"

Minato shaked his head and told her. "Not at all, you are really strong Kushina-chan but whenever I am about to launch an attack on you, I find it impossible because I dont want to hurt you, I know that I would regret it later on if I did so, even though this is for your training."

Kushina rolled her eyes and told him. "You are such a softie Minato, how could you be a great shinobi if you cant even lay a hand on someone? Fight me as I were your enemy!"

Minato found it no use to argue with her about this so he just nodded and agreed even though deep inside him, he found it against his will. He had to admit though that sparring with her is fun and challenging. She really is good in fighting, no wonder the boys were afraid of getting pummeled by her back at the old days.

When they were done, Kushina treated him ramen at Ichiraku's and he wished her good luck on her exams tomorrow.

* * *

Kushina and her teammates are currently waiting at the training grounds for their sensei. They have been waiting for almost an hour but he hasn't arrived yet.

"Great! Im gonna kick his butt once he arrives! He got the nerve to warn us about being late and here we are waiting for almost an hour!" Kushina grumbled.

Fugaku looked around and haven't seen a sign of him yet. He yawned and sat down at the grass and sharpened his tools to let the time pass by while Ken is reading a comic book. Kushina heard her stomach growl. She searched into her bag. _"I havent eaten breakfast yet because I went straight here once I woke up first thing in the morning. Might as well eat something...hmm..? what do I have here? Aha! a bowl of instant ramen! All I need is hot water... and where the heck would I get that stupid thing in this darn place?!"_ Kushina looked around and when she saw Fugaku, a brilliant idea crossed her mind.

"Hey Fugaku! Do you mind if you help me out here for awhile?" Kushina asked him.

Fugaku stopped sharpening his tools and looked at her. "How can I help you?"

Kushina is fidgeting. "You know how to use a fire style jutsu, am I right?"

Fugaku nodded. "Of course I can, it's the specialty of our clan but it takes up too much chakra and im reserving it for our test later."

"I dont need a massive amount of fire silly! I just need a little amount of it, strong enough to cook my instant ramen." Kushina smiled at him with her cute puppy eyes. Fugaku sighed, _"Who in their right mind would have resisted that? and it's not like it's too much to ask for." _

"Okay then, if you insist." Kushina hugged him and said thanks to him. Fugaku brushed her off, knowing that Minato would kill him if he found out about it. Kushina was a little confused when he refused the hug. _"That's strange, Minato does not mind when I do it to him. I just got used to hugging people when I wanted to thank them. Maybe I should make an exception for Fugaku, he is not that touchy after all."_

Kushina went to the river to scoop some water and returned to Fugaku so that he could heat it up already. After a few minutes, she was ready to devour her bowl of ramen. "Itadakimasu!" Kushina was about to eat her ramen when their sensei suddenly arrived. She suddenly choked on her ramen.

"Sorry for being late! There was a black cat when I was on my way here so I had to take the longer route!" Fugaku, Kushina and Ken gave him a death glare.

_"Tsch! When I was about to eat my ramen then he suddenly shows up! Talk about wrong timing!"_ Kushina continued on eating her food and did not mind the fact that they were all staring at her. Once she was finished, she stood up and announced. "So? What's our test for today sensei?"

"I will explain the drill now. As you can see, Im holding two bells. Each of you should get a bell in order to pass this exam. You could use ninjutsu, taijutsu and genjustu or any means in order to get this from me. This clock will ring at noontime, if you failed to get a bell, you will be tied up to a post while you watch me eat my lunch, is that understood?" Sakumo explained.

"Yes sir!" all of them replied in chorus and all of them disappeared and effectively hid behind the bushes, tree and shrubs. Sakumo could not spot them.

Ken was getting a little impatient so he decided to attack head on to him, thinking that he'll never get a bell if he would just hide and do nothing. In the meanwhile, Kushina and Fugaku are planning a strategy so that they could get a bell from him. They observed them from afar and they heard Ken screaming while he was hanging upside down and his legs are tied to a rope. It was a trap.

"Darn it! its so close yet so far away!" Ken shouted, trying his best to stretch out his arm so that he could snatch the bell from the ground.

Sakumo chuckled and picked up the bell "If the bait is obvious, dont take it." He teasingly lifted the bell up to Ken's face which made him more furious.

Ken growled at him and said. "Would you please untie me?"

Sakumo smiled and turned his back away from him. "Sorry but you'll have to get out of that on your own. If anybody helped you, the both of you would be disqualified and will be sent back to the academy"

Kushina remembered the exact same thing when she was training with Minato yesterday. _"shoot! good thing I learned my lesson from the ramen incident from yesterday. Who knows what would've happened if Minato didn't point it out to me yesterday. Wait for awhile! he said that this test requires teamwork! I have to help him, I have to take risks"_ Kushina was about to get out from her hiding place when Fugaku tugged her hand.

"What are you doing? You are ruining our plan. Didn't you hear what sensei told us earlier?"

Kushina shoved his hand and said. "Ken is still our comrade, we have to help him. That's why we are a squad."

Fugaku released her hand "Do what you want, I wont stop you. He is pretty useless in my opinion so why do you even bother?"

Kushina walked away from her hiding place and began to approach Ken. "Dont worry, I'll help you out. Come with me and help us with our plan." Fugaku decided to help out Kushina, their sensei was no where in sight anyway.

Sakumo witnessed everything while he was observing them from a tree. Ken nodded to her and thanked Kushina for saving his butt.

They were about to go back to their hiding place when Sakumo just appeared in front of them. She was surprised and nervous when he saw him. _"This is the end of my career! Im toast!"_

Sakumo smiled at them with pride. "I am so proud of you. You were able to find the meaning behind this exam and I was amazed. You are the first squad that ever passed my test with flying colors. The other squads just followed what I said and did not care about the wellbeing of their comrades... Always remember this, It is true that those who abide the law are scum, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum."

Kushina did not expect this. She is overwheled with joy right now. She remembered what Minato adviced her. _"I owe you one for this Minato." _She jumped up into the air and screamed "Yes! Im a genin right now! I cant believe it!" Fugaku and Ken approached her and gave her a high five and then they made a victory chant.

Sakumo laughed and said. "Be ready for tomorrow, Squad seven will have its very first mission."

All of them were so excited for tomorrow. When Kushina was on her way home, she remembered something. "Shoot! I almost forgot about the festival later! I must get ready and meet with Minato before it starts!"

She ran quickly to her house and used her remaining time to perk herself up.

end of chapter...

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So how was it? I hope you liked it :) Next chapter is about their date! Stay tuned!

to be continued...

Hugs and Kissses XD


	11. Fireworks

**Thanks for the reviews and follows! It really means a lot to me! About that question of yours Red-Hot Habanero: Remember when Kakashi and Obito was arguing about saving Rin? Obito mentioned Kakashi's father, the White Fang and told Kakashi that he truly believed that his father is a hero even if the whole village thinks that he was a total failure for choosing his comrades over their mission. That's when Obito used the same line I used last chapter. They have the same beliefs so I decided that Sakumo should teach this important lesson to his genin team. I hope you were satisfied by my answer :)**

I do not own Naruto... It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

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Chapter Eleven

Fireworks

"What the hell am I going to wear?!" Kushina screamed as she pulled out some clothes from her closet. Mikoto is sitting on bed her right now, watching Kushina. She decided to help Kushina out because she knew that Kushina will encounter troubles in picking the perfect outfit to wear. When she learned about Minato asking her out, she was more than glad to help her. She wanted to make sure that everything will turn out good for the both of them.

Mikoto went to the closet and handed over a pink kimono with intricate flower patterns. "Here, let me help you...this looks perfect on you."

Kushina smiled and said "Thanks Mikoto but dont you think Im looking a little too girly in this outfit?"

Mikoto chuckled. "Who cares? You look so adorable in that thing. Im sure Minato would be dazzled when he sees you!"

Kushina felt her cheeks blush but tried her best not to. Even if Mikoto is her closest friend, she feels embarrassed whenever she does that. She is afraid about Mikoto jumping into conclusions that she likes Minato.

Mikoto fixed Kushina's hair into a cute bun. She let Kushina see her reflection in a full length mirror and she was astonished at Mikoto's work. She looks so dazzling right now.

"Thanks Mikoto-chan, you are the best!" she hugged her.

"No problem Kushina, I have to go now and get ready too. By the way, good luck with your date!" Mikoto said as she left.

Kushina waved goodbye to her. "It's not a date! He just needs company in the festival and I need to thank him for helping me out on my training. See ya later!"

After a few minutes since Mikoto left, Kushina heard a knock on her front door. She walked down the stairs and opened the door. She was surprised to see Minato, he was wearing a lavender yukata, which brings out the color of his eyes. They were staring at each other for quite a while. _"Oh man! She's so beautiful" _Minato thought as he gazed at her from head to toe.

Kushina grabbed his hand "Let's go inside, shall we?" Minato is feeling butterflies again. Everytime they make the slightest contact, it always feels this way for him.

"Uh...act-actually i-im he-here to pick you up."

Kushina laughed at him.. "Minato... you never change do you? I remembered the first time you tried to talk to me... you were stuttering." Kushina smiled as she went outside and locked her door. Minato was just staring at her.

"Hey! why dont you talk? Are you even listening?" Kushina asked.

"uh yeah.. but that was 2 years ago." Minato smiled. He would never forget that day when Kushina first came into his life.

They were able to arrive at the festival before the grand fireworks display starts. They went to every stall, playing shooting games or buying a snack from the food stalls. The both of them were having such a good time.

"You are so good at this!" Kushina watched Minato shoot the targets easily. The stall owner was getting a little worried. _"At this rate, I'll be bankrupt."_

The both of them laughed while they carried a handful of prizes from the stalls they went to. Minato was getting a little tired so the both of them sat on a bench, Minato was eating his snack while Kushina is stargazing.

"The stars sure are beautiful tonight." Kushina said as she gazed at the stars.

Minato gazed at her instead, it is hard for him to steal glances from her without her noticing whenever they are together but right now, Kushina is too focused at something else. He moved his hand close to hers and their hands almost touched. Minato saw that Kushina did not mind so he held her hand. Kushina could feel her heartbeat raise as Minato moved closer to her.

"Kushina..." Minato said softly.

"What is it?" Kushina asked and was caught off guard when he turned to look at him. _"The intensity of his stare...it feels so warm" _She stared at his cerulean eyes while waiting for a response.

Minato leaned closer to her which made her blush. "I wanted to tell you somethin-" before he was able to finish his sentence, a loud noise startled them. The fireworks diplay has already begun.

Kushina interrupted him and said. "Let's save our conversation for later, let's go see the fireworks first!"

Minato nodded and they held hands while they were making their way out from the big swarm of people around them, who pushed their way just to have a good view of the fireworks. Without them noticing, someone has been following them.

They managed to get out of the large crowd somehow, but it was too late. "I cant see it from here." Kushina complained.

Minato smiled at her and said. "Let's climb up that tree, we will have a nice view of it from there." He pointed at the large tree at the corner.

The both of them are viewing the beautiful display from the branches of the tree. Kushina was amazed at the sight, she has never seen anything like it before. "Wow! its amazing! I've never seen fireworks before!"

Kushina was so absorbed on watching the fireworks display that she did not notice that the branch that she was stepping on was about to break. Before she knew it, she was already falling. It was too late and she was about to land head first on the ground, but Minato catched her and took the fall for her. Kushina opened her eyes and saw herself on Minato's chest.

"Minato?" she touched his cheeks and realized that he was unconscious. It was strange though, because it was unusual for a skilled ninja to collapse just by falling from an average tree. She knew that there was somewhat strange going on. She examined him and she saw a poison needle at his neck. _"No wonder he collapsed a while ago, someone is following us..."_

Kushina was about to bring him to the nearest hospital when two masked ninja in disguise crossed their path. "Stop right there and surrender yourself to us!" The masked ninja was holding a long sword and focusing it to her.

"What do you want?" Kushina shouted.

"Dont be frightened. We bring you no harm, we just wanted something in great value from you. If you disagree to come with us, Im afraid we'll have to force you." The ninja said.

Little by little, Minato was gaining consciousness and he heard the whole conversation. _"What could they possibly want from her?"_

Kushina was in deep thought now. She does not want Minato to get involved in this so... "Okay then, fine. As long as you keep your promise not to hurt anyone."

Minato couldnt move his body _"I've got to do something...dont trust them Kushina!" _As much as he wanted to warn her, he couldn't. He does not have enough energy to talk yet. Kushina left him at the clinic and followed the masked ninjas afterwards.

The ninjas brought her to a dark place. Kushina looked around and realized that all exits within the place are secured. No one that goes in can go out without the guard's permission. She is getting a bad feeling about this. It was too late before she realized that these guys are nothing but trouble.

"What is your purpose for bringing me here?!" Kushina asked.

A group of men surrounded her. "That demon inside of you is valuable to us. We need the power of the Nine-Tails in order to execute our plan."

Kushina could not believe that she trusted these guys. "And that is?"

The man in front of her spoke. "World domination..."

"The first step of our plan is to extract the Kyubi. Dont worry, for you will feel no pain. After all, no jinchuriki has survived after the extraction of the beast. You should be thankful, because the sorrowful days of being a jinchuriki are finally over. Your suffering ends here."

Kushina could not believe that this was happening to her._"Does my life end here? I dont want to die yet! I need to do something!"_ She tried to ran from them but her attempt to escape was no use. Tears ran down her cheeks when she realized that it was hopeless.

The whole place began to tremble and the walls are starting to crumble. After a loud explosion, Jiraiya and the other jounin entered the hideout.

"How did you know about this?" Kushina asked.

Jiraiya chuckled. "My student told me that you were in danger, so the Hokage ordered us to retrieve you and bring you back to the village safely."

Kushina was relieved but she was also wondering how Minato knew about this, she was sure that he was still unconscious during that time._ "Could it be? Did he hear the conversation earlier? then that means..."_

Kushina would rather not think about it. After quite some time, Jiraiya and the others were able to injure the enemy severely, they decided to retreat. Before they escaped, the man from earlier spoke "This is not the end of it, till we meet again."

That night, Kushina could not sleep because some things have been bothering her lately. "Does he know about it already?" she asked. She started to wonder about herself as well, "Why do I care so much about him? Why cant I stop thinking about him?" Kushina is getting confused about her feelings lately, she never felt something like this before. Everytime she looks at him, she feels butterflies and she feels unusually happy whenever he is with her. She missed him so bad whenever he is not around. She always loved his warm smile, it makes her day complete. Little did she knew that she was starting to develop feelings for the guy.

Kushina decided to pay Minato a visit to the hospital the next morning.

Kushina brought a basket of apples to him. "Are you feeling well?" She asked worriedly.

Minato smiled and nodded to her. "I'm feeling better than last night, thanks for the concern"

"Something has been bothering me lately... what did those ninjas need from you?"

Kushina did not want Minato to know about her secret, it could ruin their friendship and he might avoid her just like the others who knew about it. The thought of it was so much for her to bear.

"Well...I have no idea what they wanted from me actually." She lied to him and Minato was not buying it. He decided not to bring this topic up again because she feels uncomfortable talking about it. To see her safe and happy was enough for him. He does not care whatever darkness she was hiding from him, his affections for her will never change, no matter what. Kushina is clueless about it for now, but he will tell her someday, when the right time comes.

end of chapter...

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to be continued...

sorry if that chapter was short. I hope you liked it :)

I know what you are thinking, their date is not like what you expected it to be, but I have reasons for making it that way. Im sorry if I disappointed some of you, I'll make it up to you next time. At least make them a bit older. I just realized that they are still too young for this stuff.

Ja ne!


	12. Secrets revealed

Hello guys! Thanks for the reviews, follows and favorites! This chapter has a timeskip of three years so they are practically fourteen years old already. Hope you enjoy!

I do not own Naruto... It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

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Chapter Twelve

Secrets revealed

Team seven is currently in the Hokage's mansion. Sarutobi assigned a D rank mission to them and explained the objectives of the mission. Even though they tried to hide it, Sarutobi could see that they are pissed off. Anyone could tell that they are, who in their right mind wouldn't? they are tired of being assigned to this kind of missions but no one had the guts to complain. He was the Hokage after all, not until...

"Hokage-sama! we are chuunin already! can't we get a better one?! Im so tired of these stupid missions!" Kushina screamed at the Hokage, she cant help it anymore. Two years had passed since they took the chuunin exams and they were still given lame missions. She does not care if she gets punished for disrespecting the Hokage. Even her teammates were shocked by her actions. All of them stood frozen into place, worried about what the Hokage might do to them.

The Hokage smiled at the red haired kunoichi and said. "Sad to say but all of the C rank missions are already taken by the other teams. But since you insist, i'm going to assign your squad to a B rank mission. You are going to escort the daughter of the feudal lord safely to her destination. Satisfied?"

Kushina's eyes sparkled when she heard of this "Yes! Thankyou so much Hokage-sama!" She looked at her teammates and saw excitement in their eyes. They are going to have a B rank mission at last.

Sarutobi interrupted their discussion and proceed with explaining the details of the mission. "And by the way, you are going to have an extra member in your squad, he is a very promising shinobi." a loud knock can be heard from the door "You can come in!"

Kushina wondered who this promising shinobi was Sarutobi talking about. The door swung open and a spiky blonde boy with cerulean blue eyes appeared in front of them. "Hokage-sama, why did you call me?"

Kushina was surprised to see him, they have not seen each other for quite some time. She started to feel butterflies again _"Why does it always have to feel this way?"_ It has been three whole year since she last saw of him. It was because Jiraiya offered Minato to train with him, away from the village which of course made her quite depressed. Out of all the ninja in the village, she did not expect him to come around.

"Minato?" she said in excitement as soon as she saw him enter the room. She was so glad to see him again, it has been so long .

Minato gave his familiar warm smile at her. Kushina had the urge to hug him on the spot but she couldn't She does not want to make a scene out of it. She couldn't be happier, the fact that she is going to have a B rank mission with Minato made her so excited.

Minato asked the Hokage "So what is this mission you're talking about?"

"You are going to join Team seven in escorting the daughter of the feudal lord. She will be here any minute now."

They heard the door open and turned around to see who is there. All of them were surprised to see a girl about their age enter the room. She has beautiful glossy black hair and she wears an elegant blue robe. She is stunningly beautiful, she is also wearing a tiara and a few ornaments on her body. Judging by her looks, no mistake that she was the one who they are supposed to escort.

Kushina approached her and held out a hand "Im Kushina Uzumaki, may I ask what your name is?"

The girl shyly replied "um... my name is Hikari Fukushima, it's nice to meet you Uzumaki-chan.."

Kushina smiled at the adorable girl "No need for the honorifics, you can just call me Kushina if you want."

Hikari looked around her and blushed when she saw Minato. She is attracted to him and Kushina took notice of it. "That blonde boy you are looking at is Minato Namikaze, he is my bestfriend. Come on, i'll introduce you to him if you want."

The princess nodded and as they went closer to him, she felt nervous and fluttery. When Minato saw her approaching, he smiled at her and held out his hand. Kushina could not understand what she is feeling, but she felt irritated and angry when she saw Minato being unusually kind to the girl.

_"Come on Kushina! he was just being friends with the girl, what's wrong with you? It's none of your business anyway if he likes the girl. I mean, look at her. They deserve each other."_ Her thoughts were interrupted when Minato spoke to the princess. "My name is Minato Namikaze, its nice to meet you Hikari-chan."

Hikari blushed at the kindness showed by the blonde "um.. nice to meet you too Minato-kun.."

Kushina tried her best to ignore it but she cant take her eyes off the two of them. She felt an overwhelming sadness whenever she saw the two of them together. She went outside of the office and leaned her back at the corridor walls.

Minato noticed that Kushina wasn't her usual cheerful self today so he excused himself and approached Kushina to ask her. "Are you okay Kushina?" Minato asked worriedly.

Kushina looked at Minato with sad eyes and he saw a tear fall from her cheeks. He took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped her tears. She embraced him and Minato stroked her back comfortingly."It's gonna be okay..."

Without them knowing, the princess observed them from the gaps of the door "Minato-kun.."

When they were already outside the gates of Konoha, Minato could not take his eyes off Kushina, he was worried about her. _"Why is she acting so strange?"_ The red haired kunoichi walked beside the carriage of the princess while her gaze was avoiding Minato's.

The sky was getting dark, as nighttime falls, all of them decided to set up camp and continue with their journey tomorrow morning. The princess sat on a rock beside the river while the others prepare everything for the night. Minato gathered some wood in the forests so that they could set up a fire. Ken is catching fishes by the river while Fugaku and Kushina are setting up the tent. As soon as they got their job done, all of them gathered around the campfire to keep themselves warm.

The princess couldn't help but notice that Minato is acting strange when it comes to Kushina, so she approached the blonde and asked him. "um.. do you like Kushina-chan?"

Minato was surprised by the sudden question "uh.. why do you ask?" he said while scratching the back of his head.

Hikari sighed and knew the answer to the question by observing his actions "Have you told her already?"

Minato lowered his head "No, I have not told her yet, Im not ready for that and so is she.."

The raven haired girl looked at him in the eye "you should tell her you know.. before it's too late. I know what you are going to say.. that you are going to wait for the right time but.. you never know what the future holds.. take the oppurtunity to say that you love her.. before you realize that it's too late."

Minato came to realize that what she is saying is true. They are ninjas, it's not expected for them to have a long life so there's no point in waiting, as long as oppurtunity strikes, take it so that there would be no regrets later on.

Minato stood up "Thankyou for your word of advice.. it really helped."

As soon as he left the princess alone, Hikari held onto her necklace as she remembered someone, her eyes started to water and tears escaped her eyes "I miss you mom."

Minato asked the others where Kushina was, but they had no idea. She's been missing for an hour now. Minato got worried and searched for her throughout the woods but there was no sign of her anywhere. He decided to rest near the river and he heard a familiar voice spoke "Why are you here?"

Minato turned his head to the direction where the voice came from. Much to his surprise, he saw the person he was searching for throwing pebbles and rocks to the river.

"Are you just gonna stare at me or what? Why dont you go to your little princess and spend time with her? she's so much better than me after all." Kushina tried to make it sound like she was teasing him but her voice had this hint of sadness with it.

Minato went near her and put his hand on her shoulder. "That's not true. You can tell me what's bothering you"

Kushina looked at him with anger "It's your fault Namikaze! I dont understand why I am feeling this way about you! whenever I see you with that girl, I feel sad, angry and alone. It's obvious that you like her, she's perfect and all. What I dont understand is that.. why am I making a big deal out of these things!"

Kushina was caught off guard when he suddenly hugged her tightly "You got it wrong Kushina, I do not think of her that way because I already have someone else in my heart for a long time now..."

She wrapped her arms around him and felt his warmth upon hers. It was the perfect temperature she needed for the cold night. Minato tightened the embrace and whispered to her ear "Ever since you came into my life, I felt so happy and nervous whenever Im with you, the fact that I would willingly give my own life for you made me realize something.."

He paused a bit before he said the three important words that he should have told her long before, "I love you"

Those last three words made Kushina weak to her knees. She did not know how to react when he said it but she could feel mixed emotions of happiness, relief and security when he told her what she meant to him. She broke free from the hug and before Minato knew what is going to happen next, he felt her lips upon his. He never felt anything like it before, without a second thought, his arms automatically swarmed around Kushina's waist. He closed his eyes and wanted to feel nothing but her lips. Everything seems so perfect at the moment. Loving someone and being loved was something that made him completely happy. It gave another meaning to life.

After a few seconds of total bliss, Kushina broke away from the kiss and told him. "Sorry... I didn't mean to-"

Minato interrupted her "You dont have to apologize.. I liked it."

Kushina felt so embarrassed about what she just did. It was a big no no for a girl to make the first move but at the same time it felt so right. Minato stared into her amethyst eyes and put his hand on her cheeks. He leaned closer to her face until his nose touched hers. Kushina could feel his warm breath. Both of them closed their eyes and he sealed her lips with a passionate kiss. He made sure that this would last longer than the previous one which only lasted for awhile. His mouth started to move as he deepened the kiss, Kushina responded to it and her lips moved synchronizing with his. She let her emotions take over not until she remembered something. She broke off from the kiss and stood up "This is wrong Minato, you deserve someone better than me. Im just going to be a burden to you."

"Why are you saying this?" Minato asked.

"It's because I am a monster.. How about we just forget what happened to us and stay as friends, like we used to be three years ago." Kushina replied softly.

Minato could not get why she's acting this way "Just tell me why.. I need an explanation why you keep on degrading yourself. I always admired you even from the very start. You are someone special to me, no one can replace you."

Kushina tried to hold her tears back but it was no use. "Easy for you to say since you dont know the whole truth about me.. I gotta leave" she ran away from him without waiting for a response. As she ran through the forests, thoughts of him were flooding her mind. She kept telling herself that what she did was the right thing but her heart told her otherwise. "If only he knew, then he would probably change the way he felt about me and I'm not going to let that be the reason of something I will regret later on."

As soon as she arrived at camp, Hatake Sakumo could sense that Kushina is acting strange. The whole ordeal started one year ago

_Flashback:_

_Two anbu officials disturbed Team Seven's training session, looking for a red haired kunoichi named Kushina._

_Kushina approached them as soon as she learned that they were looking for her. "What brings you here?"_

_The man with the Kitsune pup mask replied "The Hokage needs your presence immediately."_

_Kushina obediently followed them and they brought her to a room that had a shade of pink and the curtains were color red. What takes her attention the most is the old lady who is sitting at the edge of the bed, the kind lady smiled at her and motioned her to come near. _

_"Come here, child." the lady said._

_"You know who I am dont you?"_

_Kushina shaked her head. "I forgot the name but as from what I heard, you also came from the Uzumaki clan."_

_"You are right.. My name is Mito Uzumaki. I am the first Hokage's wife and I am_ _also__ the jinchuriki of the nine tails."_

_Kushina's eyes widened from what she just heard. "Dont tell me that I was brought here to be.. No! I wont allow it!" tears of sadness escaped her eyes._

_Lady Mito placed her hand on top of Kushina's head and comforted her. "I know what you feel, I can imagine the sadness you are experiencing now. I was also brought here for that same purpose but listen to me, we may be vessels for the nine tails but we can still be happy. In order to overcome the fox's hatred, we must fill ourselves with love first. You do have someone you like to protect dont you?" _

_Kushina nodded as she thought of her friends and most especially Minato._

_"Are you willing to do it for the sake of the village and your friends?"_

_Kushina's voice shaked as she answered "Yes"_

_end of flashback_

Sakumo can recall what happened since he is also required to be with Kushina during that time, since he is her sensei. It is a confidential secret that no one was allowed to know, except for him, the Hokage and a few of the top officials. He felt sad for the girl, she was not as cheerful and positive as the Kushina he knew before. A lot of things changed after three years and Im afraid that some of it are for the worse.

Minato was staring into space, pondering about what Kushina just told him awhile ago. It didn't make any sense to him, Kushina is not a monster, it's even quite the contrary for him. He promised himself that no matter what she might be, he will still love and protect her.

end of chapter...

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So how was it? Yay! their first kiss but it was kinda bittersweet because Kushina is so stubborn about her feelings. She will come to realize her mistakes later on but for now Im afraid you'll have to wait for the next few chapters...

I really enjoyed typing this chapter out but I think it's too dramatic, dont ya think? nah! forget about it! who cares? keep the reviews coming and if you have any suggestions or comments, feel free to do so. You can flame if you feel like it, no one's stopping you.

I feel that there is somewhat wrong in this chapter, just let me know if you feel that way too :)

to be continued...

Hugs and Kisses XD


	13. To Have You Back

Hello guys! It's been a while since I last updated, don't ya think? I was having this feeling that there is something wrong with my chapters so every time I finished two pages, I ended up writing it all over again. It must be writer's block. Thank you for the review, follows and favorites. I hope you like this chapter! :D

I do not own Naruto... it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

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Chapter Thirteen

To Have You Back

Kushina hurriedly went inside the tent and covered herself with a thick blanket. Underneath the sheets, the red haired kunoichi cried. It was mostly because Minato just confessed to her and she felt bad for reacting that way to him. She kept telling herself that it was the right thing to do but she knew that it was the wrong way to do it. To top it off, she liked the feeling when they first kissed_._ Ever since it happened, she cant stop thinking about it. She was starting to realize that she was having feelings for the guy but she decided to get rid of those so called affections for him. As his best friend, she always wanted the best for him. She does not deserve someone like him, cause no matter how you look at it, she is a monster. She cried more when she remembered the events that happened one year ago, that was when her life started to change.

Meanwhile, Minato has been unusually quiet and his teammates are starting to worry about it. Based on what he just observed, Sakumo knew what was going on but decided not to interfere with their business. While they were roasting marshmallows during camp, Fugaku could not help but ask Minato about what is bothering him. He stood up from his seat and approched the blonde "Hey Minato! Why do you look so down?" Fugaku tried to sound enthusiastic, but being an Uchiha and all, he miserably failed at that.

Minato slightly chuckled when he heard his friend try to initiate a conversation. He looked at the raven haired guy and asked "What do you want to talk about?"

Fugaku let out a sigh and decided to say it out directly to him. "Let me get this straight. Minato, what's the issue between you and Kushina? The two of you have been acting strange lately. Im not being nosy and all but it kinda bothers me."

Minato's face is displaying an emotion of remorse. Whenever he thinks of what happened earlier, he regret that he ever confessed to Kushina, it was clear that he made a huge mistake. As he thought of it, his fists started to clench.

"I'm sorry but I would rather not talk about it. Im kinda tired so i'm going to bed." He stood up and walked towards the tent. Honestly speaking, no matter how much he tried to sleep, he couldn't. His mind lingered with the thoughts of her. _"Is there a possibility that we can still be the best of friends? I'll have to talk to her when we return back to the village. That's what I get for pushing my luck." _As a result, he stayed up all night and looked like a zombie when they were about to leave.

All of them were forced to leave the campsite by daybreak. They dont have much time left. They had to escort the princess at the fire temple before sundown. On their way there, they decided to stop at a nearby town to rest for awhile and eat. From the looks of it, this town looks like it was abandoned. While they were roaming the streets, eyes like daggers were focused upon them. Several of them are men who looked like criminals. They heard one of them whisper. "The girl over there looks precious. You think she's the daughter of a feudal lord?"

The man with a big built and a bottle of sake in his hands answered. "It looks like it, Boss would pay a hefty price for this catch and too bad it's only a bunch of squirts who are guarding her. This would be easy, let's wait for the right time, when they put their guard down, eh?"

The other man smirked. "Ya sure? If it were me, I'll go for them now."

"Tsch, we should not be hasty. I think that the silver haired shinobi over there is the White Fang. Gotta keep an eye on that bastard. He could really be a pain on the ass if you cross him." The man with a sword on his back said.

Hikari looked left and right, no matter how hard she kept telling herself to calm down, she couldn't. It was obvious that all these people were eyeing for her. She cringed through Kushina's arm and the readhed noticed her studder. The redhaired kunoichi looked at her sensei. "Could we take another route? It does not seem safe here, the people here are creepy. They are up to no good sensei."

The silver haired shinobi smiled at the worried genin and said "There's nothing to worry about, Im here to protect all of you from any harm, even if it kills me. This is the fastest route to the fire temple and one of the safest too."

Ken raised an eyebrow _"Yeah right, he calls this place safe? Im terrified to know what he considers dangerous. Oh the sarcasm of these people never ceases to amaze me."_

Sakumo noticed the expressions given to him by his students. "Ok, let me explain. The other way to the temple is through the forests. There are a lot of wild animals and rogue ninja there plus we could hardly get sustenance from that place, since that forest's resources are scarce. Another thing is that, it could take up twice the time taking that route rather than this one."

All of them sighed, they were hoping that they could find a way out of this mess but it looks like they have no choice. _"I take it all back, I would rather take all those boring D rank missions than this." _Ken thought as they stopped at a shop. It was like a small cottage. As they entered the shop, they could see two guys holding a weapon in their hands and attacking each other. The owner of the shop cursed at them for even daring to do such a thing inside his shop. All in all, this place is a total mess.

Minato took a glance at the redhaired, curious if she got scared by them but he was surprised to see her smiling. _"Why the hell is she smiling for?"_

Kushina pointed a finger on one of them. "Hey! You wouldn't mind to take that fight of yours outside, would you?" Sakumo and the others looked at her, terrified of what she just did. _"What the hell is she doing? She is such a pain in the ass sometimes.." _Fugaku thought.

The two of them stopped and laughed at her. "What did ya say punk?! I didn't hear you quite that well! You have guts kid, for intervening with us like that."

"Pst! what are you doing Kushina? We should be avoiding trouble right?" Ken told the redhead.

Kushina growled at him. "Im tired of these people! Who do they think they are anyway?!"

Minato sighed. _"Oh yeah, I forgot. Kushina is short tempered and very reckless if you made her mad." _Minato was surprised when the two of them ran towards her. "Dont tell me that... Kushina, ran away now!"

The two men lunged for Kushina. "Big mistake kid! Dont think that because your a girl, we'll make an exception. You will pay for messing with us!"

She knew that it was too late. Kushina put her arms in front of her so that she could block any imminent blows. She was surprised when he saw Sakumo in front of her, shielding her from their attacks while he held a white light chakra sabre, it was the first time she saw her sensei use that weapon with the team. It was the very reason that he was called the White Fang of the Leaf. This weapon emits white chakra when wielded.

He was able to land a critical blow to the both of them, which caused them to be severely wounded. The other man gasped in pain as he tried to speak. "Dont tell me that you're... Konoha's White Fang.."

The other man bowed down unto his feet and apologized. "I'm truly sorry for my actions... I will do anything you want if you would spare my life."

Sakumo smiled and he returned the weapon to his sheath. "Okay then, I would want the both of you to leave. The main reason we went here is to take a break before we continue our journey to the fire temple."

"There is something important I need to tell you before you go. This place is ruled by a land lord, he arrived here several years ago and he uses the people of this village to do illegal things for his own benefit. It is most likely that you would encounter problems later on if you stay within the village for too long. There is a secret route that only a few of the villagers know, it would be best if you take it." The man said.

Ken felt relieved, he could not stand staying in this town either so hearing this was good news to him.

"I forgot to introduce ourselves, my name is Arashi and this man over here is Menma. We may seem bad at first but we have to keep the tough guy act so that we wont be left out. Don't be mistaken, we really hate that landlord, this village used to be so peaceful and harmonious but ever since he arrived, everything changed."

They settled down on a table and talked about what happened to this town when the landlord came. The kids were feeling a little bit out of place so Kushina interrupted their discussion.

"Sensei, that was really awesome. I didn't know that your name is feared by almost everyone. I think you are even greater than the legendary sannin." Kushina said while she is munching on her sandwhich.

Sakumo scratched his head. "You think so?" The silver haired ninja wasn't so good at compliments even though he earned it.

Ken and the others nodded while Minato disagreed. "I bet Jiraiya-sensei is still the best. I hope that someday I will have my own alias too. That would be awesome."

Kushina snorted. "Not gonna happen..."

Ken laughed at the blonde upon hearing Kushina's response.

"How can you be so sure?" Minato replied showing a hint of irritation in his words. Hikari giggled in amusement, she never imagined that someone like Minato could be pissed off at times.

"For one thing, you dont have an attribute or talent that differientiates you from the others, you dont even have a special skill." the red head swallowed the last piece of her sandwhich as she attempted to get another one, but there was nothing left, much to her dismay.

"Really? At least I did not get named over a vegetable" Minato teased. Everyone laughed.

Kushina glared at him."Hmph! Shut up! I dont want to be reminded of that."

Sakumo looked at the clock and rose up from his seat. "Let's continue our conversation for later, we have to go now. Arashi and Menma? where is this secret route you are telling us about?"

"I'll show you the way, follow me." Arashi said.

They led them to a dark alley, not far away from the main street. They could hear the echos of their footsteps and the dripping water from the edges of the roof. The place is empty and silent. They came across a dead end, or as they suspected it is. Arashi placed the palm of his hand on the suface and a brick sank in. The wall crumbled and a tunnel appeared in front of them. Menma signaled them to come in. Darkness came over them, they could hardly see a thing, not until Sakumo lit up a lamp. While they were walking through the dark tunnel, they could hear the fluttering movements of the bats and their eerie noises. Ever since they arrived at this town, Hikari felt her knees weaken, trembling in fear. Kushina comforted her and held her hand.

"No need to worry Hikari-chan, we are here to protect you." Kushina smiled at the princess. It took half an hour of walking before they caught sight of a blinding light. Minato ran his way towards it and shouted

"There it is! the Fire temple." Minato pointed towards the east. Everyone ran their way through the exit and gasped at the beautiful tower. Kushina sighed. "It's so beautiful."

Menma and Arashi looked at each other then turned to them. "Ok, we have to leave you guys alone for now. Have a safe trip!"

Sakumo waved goodbye to them "Thankyou!"

They walked towards the temple and went up the never ending stairs, or so it seems. "Sensei, are we ever going to be able to reach the temple? there's no end to this."

Minato smiled at the redhead, "It seems like your already giving up Kushina, dont worry we're halfway there."

Hikari is already gasping from exhaustion "Halfway? Im so tired.."

Sakumo stopped for a while and looked at Minato, "Would you carry Hikari on your back for a while? until she got her strength back."

"Sure." Minato said without hesitation, but when Hikari was already at his back, he noticed Kushina sulk and look away from them.

"Hmph!" Kushina turned her gaze away from them while Ken saw this as an oppurtunity.

"Hey Kushina, you are tired right? I can carry you until we reach the tower if you want." Ken offered with a smile. Normally, she would refuse but seeing Minato and the princess like that drives her crazy. She kept on asking herself _"What do you care about them anyway?"_ but knowing the answer to this particular question made it harder for her. She wanted to see Minato's expression if she gave in to Ken's offer so she said, "Of course, I would love that."

Ken could not believe his luck, _"Is she finally getting to like me? I hope this is not a dream." _Kushina leaped unto his back and giggled. Minato glanced at them and felt the urge to punch Ken on the face. Hikari could hear him growl, then she realized that the reason was right in front of them. _"It's always about Kushina... He confessed to her yet she did not acknowledge it. Right now, I'll have my chance. All she ever does to him is make him feel bad. If he chooses to be with me, he wont regret it."_

When they arrived at the temple gates, they could see statues in either sides of the gate. They were statues of the legendary Tengu and Yamabushi, it is believed that they taught the humans the art of ninjutsu. The temple is surrounded by forests and was said to overflow with nature. Once the gate opened, a monk greeted them. He is the leader of the place and also a member of the Twelve Guardian Ninja. "My name is Chiriku, it's my pleasure to see you Princess Hikari, your father sent you here, am I right?"

"You are right, my father sent me here to learn from you Master Chiriku. Being the daughter of the feudal lord, I also need to undergo purification."

"And who are your companions?" Chiriku asked.

"They are shinobi from Konoha, they were assigned by the Hokage to escort me here." Hikari replied.

"Sarutobi-senpai? It has been years since the last time I have heard of him. Come in everyone and take a rest. All of you must be tired from travelling." Chiriku motioned them to enter the temple.

"Thankyou for your kindness but Im afraid to say that we must get going." Sakumo replied.

"Hmm.. Is that so? then just say hello to the Hokage for me. Maybe I'll go visit Konoha after a few months. Farewell and have a safe trip home." Chiriku said as he waved his arms goodbye.

Once they returned back to Konoha, Sakumo and the team went to the Hokage Mansion to report about the mission and get their payment. Kushina smiled happily as she stuffed her money to her wallet. She is definitely going to Ichiraku's. Not far from the shop, she heard Jiraiya and Minato talk with each other. She hid from them and eavesdropped on their conversation.

"So? you confessed to her huh? What did she said?" Jiraiya asked while drinking his sake.

_"What the hell? They're talking about me?"_

"She was speechless for a while then she kissed me.. not long after that she began saying weird things." Minato said as he went slurping down another bowl of ramen.

"Like what?" Jiraiya asked.

"She said that she is a monster and I deserve someone better than her. I dont see the point, if she hates me then she just have to say it out to me rather than stating some excuses. I was thinking that maybe the only reason why she kissed me is so that I wont feel bad."

_"Idiot! You are the one who does not understand a thing about me!" _Kushina growled.

"Women... maybe you'll just have to talk to her about it. Jumping into conclusions would not do you any good. I'll have to go and commence my research, see ya later kid!" Jiraiya patted Minato's head and left the ramen stand.

Kushina entered the shop like she heard nothing, she ordered two bowls of miso ramen and sat beside him. The atmosphere is kinda awkward between the two of them. They were both quiet, not knowing what to say to each other.

"umm... Im sorry." Kushina said apologetically.

"For what?" Minato asked in confusion.

"well, you know.. about what happened the other day." Kushina stuttered. Bringing out this topic made her feel uncomfortable.

"I have to apologize too. I did not know that you already like someone else." Minato's gaze was stuck at his bowl of ramen, he looked deppressed.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Kushina raised an eyebrow.

"Ken.. you like him right?" Minato stared into her amethyst eyes.

Kushina felt a warm blush creep up her cheeks, not because of the question but because of his stare. "No.. I'm not interested at him. Stop staring like that! it's embarrassing..."

Minato smiled, seeing her like this was so fun. He wanted to tease her more. He leaned closer to her, the gap between them is only a few centimeters apart and he saw her cheeks flush red. "Why shouldn't I? You are so pretty.. I cant help staring at you. Makes me want to kiss you again.."

Kushina pushed him away. "W-what a-are y-you d-doing?" she stuttered.

Minato laughed. "Im sorry, I cant help help it. I was just joking back there. By the way, you have not told me what happened to you these past three years."

Kushina paused. She did not want to talk about it, especially what happened about a year ago. She mustered a fake smile and said. "The same goes for you, how about you tell me what happened during your journey with Jiraiya?"

Minato looked up at the sky and smiled. "Nothing special, we moved from town to town and trained. We met a lot of interesting people too. It was fun and lonely at the same time."

"Why?" Kushina asked.

"because you are not there with me, I missed you so much." Minato smiled at her.

"Hmph! I bet you met a lot of interesting girls and hang out with them." Kushina turned away from him.

"Oh I see, you're jealous!" Minato tickled her.

"As if I'd get jealous over a girly wimp like you! You know what? you've changed." Kushina sipped the remaining broth in her bowl.

"Really? you are the one who changed a lot. You are no longer as cheerful as before. I kinda missed the old Kushina." Minato said.

Kushina stared at the floor as she always do whenever she feels sad. "It's not like I changed for no particular reason. I'm afraid that you might turn your back on me if you knew. If only I could change my fate then I would."

Minato tried to understand what she is trying to say but it does not make sense to him at all. Then he remembered something. "Wait! does this secret have something to do with the kidnappers back then? It has been bothering me about what they needed from you and now that I think about it, it makes sense."

"Yeah, sorta. Let's talk about something else." Kushina said, trying to avoid the topic as much as she could.

"If you don't like talking about it, there's nothing I can do, but whatever happens I'll be here for you, okay? cheer up already!" Minato gave her a warm smile.

Kushina's lips curved up, she felt relieved. "Sorry if I just said it now but I'm really glad to have you back."

"Me too.." Minato looked at the time and rose up from his seat. "I'm sorry but I gotta go now, how about we meet at the training grounds later? Let's see how much you've improved throughout these years."

"Sure, bring it on!" Kushina smirked.

end of chapter...

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Sorry if their mission is well you know? kinda rushed. I feel kinda bad about this chapter, it seems that there is something wrong about it but I cant figure out what. Just tell me what you think about it.

to be continued...

Hugs and Kisses XD


	14. Homecoming Party

Hello guys! Thankyou for the reviews, follows and favorites! Here is chapter fourteen for you. You can consider this as a filler chapter. I hope you like it! It's been taking so long for me to update lately and I apologize about that.

**Red-Hot Habanero,** about the review from last chapter, I have a purpose for Minato not knowing that Kushina is a jinchuriki and also Hikari would visit Konoha in the future chapters and somewhat become a hindrance to their relationship. You are asking about their age right? they are fourteen to be exact. If ever you see any plot holes, that means Im going to do something about it in the upcoming chapters. Thanks for reviewing!

I do not own Naruto... It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. Have you seen the latest Naruto movie? Road to Ninja? I watched it a couple of weeks ago and it is amazing. You can watch it online for free at Narutoget(dot.)com if you want.

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Chapter Fourteen

Homecoming Party

Minato roamed the streets of Konoha, curious about the changes that might have occured when he was gone for three years. Wherever he looked, he would recall memories that have happened there. He really missed the village, and could not feel any happier that he finally came back. Once he passed by the academy, he stopped and took his time observing the place. A smile crept up his lips when he saw the familiar swing that brought back a lot of memories. The place where they first talked and where their friendship first started. He could not believe that five years have passed since that day because no matter how long it was, he can still perfectly remember it. A voice disrupted his thoughts, he turned around and saw a blonde boy with his friends.

"Minato! You finally returned!"

As they came running to him, he recognized the faces of the three. How could have he forgotten, the trio Ino-Shika-Cho. He smiled at them and waved a hand.

"It's been a long time huh?" Minato said.

Inoichi grinned at him. "We thought you'd be gone for good, uh I mean we're glad to have you back. Hehehe!"

Shikaku made a face palm and Chouza continued on snacking a bag of potato chips. Minato sighed "You guys have not changed at all, did you?"

Shikaku lifted his head and looked at him."Nah, it's too troublesome.. by the way, are you free today? we're going to Yakiniku's, while we're at it, you can tell stories about your adventures with Jiraiya."

Minato scratched the back of his head. "Im sorry guys but I'll have to pass. I promised Kushina that I'll-"

Inoichi interrupted him. "What! You are dating her already!? you sly fox..."

"Let me finish first dobe!" Minato shouted. "As I was saying, I promised that I will train with her today."

"That's not a big deal, then postpone the training then invite her to join us, the more the merrier. Right guys?" Inoichi grinned.

Shikaku rolled his eyes. "Dont tell me that you are planning on getting yourself a girlfriend again. You have not learned from last time dont you?"

Inoichi laughed. "Hahaha! I dont think of Kushina that way, she's a friend right?" Actually, Inoichi had to lie for his sake. Minato was giving him a death glare when Shikaku just announced his true intentions about the red head. _"You are so gonna pay for this Shikaku."_ Inoichi thought.

"I'll go ask her about it first. I gotta go" Minato took off and left the trio alone.

Meanwhile, Kushina is waiting at the training grounds for two hours already. Usually, she would have been impatient but it was different this time. She is taking her time thinking about tactics she could use against the blonde. From a distance, she could see a blonde- hey wait, isn't that Minato?

"What took you so long teme!?" Kushina shouted.

Minato smiled. "The trio asked me if I could go to the barbecue stand, but I refused because I promised to train with you. I was wondering if you would be interested in postponing the training and spend our time with them instead."

Kushina did not give it a second thought, "Sure, why not?"

Minato was taken back there, usually Kushina would throw a fit first before agreeing with this. "Really, are you sure?"

Kushina smiled at the nervous blonde. "Why not? You've been away from the village for three whole years. It would be selfish of me if I would be the one preventing you to spend time with your peers. It's true that training is important, but your friends are important too. We could reschedule our match anyway."

Minato is surprised with what Kushina said.

"You really changed a lot, haven't you? You've matured." Minato said.

"Not really, I grew hungry when I was waiting for you. As for your punishment, you will treat me to Yakiniku's" she said as she stuck her tongue out.

Minato sweatdropped... "Serves me right for thinking that she changed."

As they arrived at the shop, they were surprised to see the whole gang. It was not only the trio that was there, Mikoto, Fugaku, Tsume, and the Hyuga twins were also there.

All of them shouted including Kushina "Surprise!"

Minato could not believe it. _"They planned this all along? and Kushina was also behind it too. No wonder she agreed easily." _

Kushina laughed at the surprised blonde. "We planned this surprise party for you, we decided this long ago once you left the village and we got everything ready for your homecoming."

"Thankyou so much guys! I dont know what to say.." Minato smiled at all of them.

Chouza shouted. "Enough with the thankyou's and speeches, It's chow time!"

Mikoto hit him at the back of his head. "Can't you wait? We're in the middle of a heartwarming moment here and you just have to ruin it!"

Fugaku chuckled. "Dont be too hard on Chouza, Mikoto. You've got to calm down."

Mikoto shouted at the raven haired guy. "I'm completely calm!"

Kushina facepalmed _"I guess it's her time of the month, that must be it."_

Minato sat down his seat that was reserved for him. The Hyuga twins started to talk, "So? how long are you and Kushina dating huh?" said Hiashi.

"We are not dating, we're just friends.." Minato blushed a little.

"Aww.. wittle baby cant get himself a girlfwend evwen thow it's obvious that he wikes tomato-chan..." Hizashi teased and the whole gang erupted in laughter.

Kushina's face got red and she shouted at the Hyuga twins. "Keep your opinions to yourselves, you mongrels!"

Tsume growled. "You've got a problem with mongrels huh?"

Kushina gulped. _"Oh yeah I forgot, Tsume is practically a dog herself. That must have offended her."_

All the fuss stopped when a voice spoke. "Let's calm down please."

Everyone turned around and saw Shibi Aburame seated in one corner. Inoichi spoke. "I totally forgot that he is here with us! sorry about that! what's your name again?"

Everyone thought the same way too. Realizing this, Shibi plopped his head down and had an aura of depression around him. "No one noticed I was here... good grief."

Shikaku felt bad for the guy so he spoke to him. "Dont mind Inoichi, he is just an ass sometimes."

The waiter served extra dishes of barbecue and a few drinks with it. Chouza was already drooling from the sight of it. Kushina has been staring at Minato, which of course would pretend that he does not notice her doing it.

While they were eating, they chat about their missions and their teammates.

"You know what Kushina? I wish you were my team mate, you dont know how lonely it feels when you are stuck with two boring people, they ain't even half as fun as you are." Tsume said while slurping her drink.

"Yeah, likewise." Kushina was not very good at compliments, whenever someone says something about her, she does not know how to respond with it.

"By the way Kushina, you have two charming guys as your teammate, tell me who catches your interest the most." Mikoto giggled. Minato anticipated the redhead's response to this.

"They are all the same to me... Ken is the perfect gentleman, while Fugaku is the strongest and the most reliable in our team." Kushina replied as she gets another serving of barbeque on her plate.

"Oh really? so what do you think about Namikaze?" Hizashi Hyuga asked.

"He's a good friend." Kushina said. Minato was slightly disappointed with her statement but he understands that Kushina just sees him as a friend.

"That's all you can say about him? If ever Minato asks you to be his girlfriend, would you give him a chance?" Hiashi asked this time.

"Sure, mostly anyone has a chance ya know?" Kushina smiled as she thought of Minato courting her and asking her out on several dates. The redhead shook her head, trying to shake off the thoughts of him.

"Even me?" Inoichi grinned widely while Mikoto elbowed him to the stomach. As he winced, Kushina answered. "I was saying that everyone has a chance but that does not mean that it's a sure yes if they'd ask me."

"Wait a minute, why are we talking about myself anyway? This is about Minato's homecoming remember? We are supposed to interrogate him, not me." Kushina added.

"Nah, it's okay Kushina, I dont have much to share with them anyway." Minato smiled at her.

"What do you mean?! You've been with the legendary sannin, there's a ton lot of interesting stuff to share! Like the hot girls in their bikinis." Inoichi felt a couple of dagger eyes coming from the girls.

"Or interesting jutsu's he taught you." Fugaku is always the type of guy who is interested in powerful jutsus and stuff like that.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that I invented a new jutsu. It took me three whole years to master it. Jiraiya-sensei spends most of his time in the hot springs so I've decided to use my time wisely and create my own." Minato said.

"Really? Would you care to show it to us?" Shikamaru seemed interested in the topic.

"Sure, but not now." Minato said as he looked around the restaurant indicating that it's too risky.

"Okay, so you've got a name for it already?" Kushina asked.

"I really haven't thought about it yet.." Minato chuckled as he scratched the back of his head.

Inoichi seemed uninterested at Minato's new jutsu so he interrupted them. "Back to the topic, so? Im sure you've met a couple of sizzling hot girls."

Mikoto's eyebrow twitched as she pinched Inoichi's ear really hard. "Drop the topic would you?!"

"Yeah, I've met a lot but I did not find them interesting at all. Only one girl has caught my eye and no one could change my mind about it." Minato stared at the redhead and saw her blush, of course she knew it was her. He confessed to her, didn't he?

"I can smell something fishy..." Hiashi teased.

"The both of you are hiding something from us, am I right?" Hizashi asked.

"It's none of your business." Kushina glared at him, intimidating enough to make a grown man wet their pants.

When it was getting dark, all of them decided to leave and go home. Meanwhile, at the fire temple...

"Chiriku-sama, can I go visit Konoha?" the raven haired beauty asked while combing her hair in front of the mirror.

"Sure, but you still have to finish your training." Chiriku responded.

"That's nice to hear." she said.

_"Just you wait Minato... Im looking forward to seeing you again." _she said as she licked her lips and giggled.

end of chapter...

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I know that I did a crappy job on this chapter and I have to apologize for that. I'll make it up to you next time. To be honest, Im kinda losing inspiration because of the lack of feedbacks. I dont know whether my story is good or not. It would not hurt to post a review about what you think about it. Im always open to constructive critization. I hope you understand.

to be continued...

Hugs and Kisses XD


	15. Chance

Sorry for the late update!

Hello guys! Im back :D Hope you like this chapter! Thanks for the reviews!

**Shikikami4**- your questions will be answered in this chapter so keep reading and you'll find out ;)

I do not own Naruto... It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

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Chapter Fifteen

Chance

"Tell me why you had to drag me all the way from my house just to show me something. Is it really that important?" Kushina said with a stern look on her face.

"Remember when I told everyone about my new jutsu? well, I like you to be the first one to see it." Minato opened his palms and started to build chakra in a spiral motion. Slowly, the chakra changed shape and turned into a ball.

Kushina's eyes widened. "Cool!"

Minato smiled at the compliment and used his jutsu on a big oak tree. Kushina was shocked by the damage it was able to create. "Wow! you were able to create a jutsu that powerful? you really are a genious." Kushina praised as she walked over to Minato's side.

"Aha! I think I know what to call it." Kushina grinned at him.

"What is it?" Minato asked.

"Dont laugh okay?... how about rasengan? it kinda fits right?" Kushina asked.

"Rasengan? (meaning: spiral eye), too obvious where it came from, isn't it?" Minato chuckled.

"At least I was able to come up with a name. Do you have any better ideas?" Kushina glared at him.

"I think you misunderstood, I didn't mean it that way. Actually, it sounds perfect." Minato gave her a warm smile, the kind of smile that was only reserved for her. Kushina felt her knees weaken from his gaze.

"Okay, okay quit smiling at me like that would you? Geez.. I've been thinking of something lately."

Minato looked at her. "What is it?"

"You said earlier that I was the first one to ever see the new jutsu you created, does that mean you haven't told pervy sage about it yet?" Kushina asked.

"Oh.. about that, he thinks that I was still working on it. He does not know that I mastered it already. Keep this as our secret would you? He might feel bad if he learns that-"

Minato was cut off "That I may learn what?" Jiraiya suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"umm... nothing" Kushina scratched the back of her head while Minato nervously waved his hand to his sensei.

As Jiraiya approached them, he noticed the both of them fidgeting. "Spill it! what are the two of you hiding from me?"

"Nothing sensei.." Minato said rather unconvincingly.

"Oh really? Tell me, are you and Kushina in a secret relationship? Dont worry I wont tell anyone about it." Jiraiya grinned at thm devilishly.

The both of them turned red the instant they heard that Jiraiya was suspecting that they are a couple. Jiraiya laughed loudly as he told them. "I knew it! How long have you been hiding this from me? Minato, you sly fox... I've taught you well."

"Sensei, you're wrong, I was just-" before he finished his sentence, his sensei suddenly ran off while giggling. He was up to no good.

"Baka! Now we're screwed! Knowing him, he'll probably spread the rumor throughout the whole village. What are we gonna do?" Kushina asked his blonde friend.

"If ever it comes to that point, then we'll beat the crap out of him. But for now, let us not assume things. I trust sensei, I know he's better than what you think." Minato said as they started walking throught the streets of Konoha, while they were strolling throught the streets, they could hear people whispering while they are passing by.

"Ok. Are you ready to beat the crap out of that pervert?" Kushina said as she clenched her fists and started to break her knuckles.

"Uh.. Kushina, aren't you exaggerating a bit? It's bad to jump into conclusions you know? you might be wrong." Minato said as he tried to stop Kushina from storming off.

"Ohayo Minato-kun.." a familiar voice spoke.

"Huh?" Kushina tried to remember whose voice it is but as the both of them turned around, they saw her. The feudal lord's daughter, Hikari Fukushima.

"Hello there Hikari, long time no see." Kushina waved her hand at her while she just rolled her eyes and clinged to Minato's arm. Slightly irritated by the new attitude the raven haired beauty just showed, she tried her best not to get affected by it. After all, she is her friend right? or maybe not.

"Minato-kun, did you miss me?" She smiled her cutest at the blonde and Minato started to scratch his head. He didn't know what to say, he was always like this whenever girls are being flirty to him. He didn't know if he should just bluntly tell her that she never even crossed his mind when they departed or lie and tell her what she wanted to hear. But what worries him the most is what would Kushina think about it. Would she be glad or angry? Probably not, she just thinks of him as a friend. Shaking his thought away, he looked to his right and saw Hikari patiently waiting for his response.

"Well yeah, sorta." he smiled back at her but only Kushina knew that it was fake. She is the only one who could read what his expressions meant, she knows whether his smile is a real one or a fake.

"Minato-kun, why dont we go to a famous restaurant here in Konoha? Kushina, do you want to come along too?" Hikari smiled at her and returned her gaze to Minato once again. On their way to the restaurant, Kushina ignored them and let her mind drift away from them. She didn't realize that they were already at their destination not until Minato tugged her shirt.

"Kushina-chan, we're here already. Are you spacing out again?" Minato asked.

"Uh.. sorry about that. Wow! This restaurant is one of the most expensive here in Konoha." Kushina looked around while they were entering. She saw different people ranging from kids to adults, but one thing was evident, each and everyone of them are either very rich people or part of the main branch of a clan like the Uchihas and Hyuugas. She felt a little out of place as she felt their eyes on her. She took a glance at her blonde friend but she saw him rather busy talking to the raven haired princess, _"Why am I feeling this way? They look good together... She's perfect for him so how come I feel empty and sad, shouldn't I be happy for him, he is finally able to find someone perfect and it wont take long before they become a couple. She likes him and I cant see anything undesirable about her... he could finally move on from his infatuation for me and find someone better."_

While they were eating dinner with the princess, Minato noticed that Kushina is acting rather weird today. She does not eat her full as she usually does and she looks rather depressed. She spaces out a lot and she avoids conversations with him. This bothered him a lot so he asked her. "Kushina-chan, is there something wrong?"

The read head was startled when Minato asked her, she was actually spacing out for like the tenth time today. "uh.. nothing, there's nothing wrong. Im just a bit tired today." She was able to muster a fake smile to him as she stood up from her seat.

"Sorry Hikari but I've got to go. Enjoy your time with Minato okay? and dont worry about me. I have something very important to attend to." the red head ran off to the exit of the restaurant.

"There's definitely something wrong with her. Sorry Hikari-chan but I'll have to follow her." Minato was about to leave but the raven haired princess gripped on his wrists.

"Wait! Didn't she tell you that you shouldn't worry about her. When a girl tells you that, it means that she wanted to be alone. You've been close friends and you weren't able to figure that out. Just let her be." Hikari muttered.

"But I have to be by her side right now. She looks down, I have to be there for her." Minato said as he tried to get out of Hikari's grip.

"Why are you trying so hard for her? she rejected you right? she sees you no more than a friend. I've always tried to get you to like me but no matter what I do, I always end up forgotten." Tears started to form in her eyes. "I like you Minato-kun, can't you see that? All I wanted is for you to give me a chance to prove myself to you. I promise that you wont regret it if you choose me, just give me a chance." her eyes are filled with desperation. Well of course, Minato being Minato, he couldn't say no. It's not only just about that though, hearing her say that, he came to realize that she was right. No matter how hard he tries, Kushina didn't even show any hint of interest to him. He knew it was pointless yet he always chased over her, doing everything for her but his feelings were never returned.

"I'll think about it Hikari. How about we go out tomorrow?" Minato smiled.

Hikari wiped her tears away as her lips crept up into a smile. "Sure, that would be nice."

As they parted ways, Minato kept asking himself one question. "Am I doing the right thing?"

Meanwhile, the red haired kunoichi sat on a bench alone. Ever since the homecoming party, she made a promise to herself to never shed a tear for him again. She cursed herself, why is she so vulnerable to these affections for him. No matter how hard she tried, she could not deny the fact that she was deeply in love with him for three years but she have not told anyone about it yet, not a single soul.

While Mikoto is running some errands for her family, she saw her bestfriend on the bench, sitting alone. She looked so remorseful and lonely. Mikoto began to worry about her so she approached the red head to initiate a talk with her.

"Kushina-chan, Im starting to worry about you. What's the matter? You can talk to me." Mikoto said as she sat beside her.

"Oh, it's nothing. There's nothing wrong really." Kushina mustered a fake smile to make her statement convincing but Mikoto have not fallen for it.

"You should do better than that if you want to fool me. Seriously, I know you too well. I can see perfectly through your lies. So? is this about Minato-kun?" Mikoto asked.

"Huh? what makes you think that this is all about him?" Kushina'e eyes widened when Mikoto suddenly pulled her into a hug.

"There's no doubt about it, I've been observing you for a long time now and I know that you have feelings for him. I think I shouldn't tell you this but Minato _really _likes you. Why dont you talk it out and find out yourself?" Mikoto giggled.

"I already know. He confessed to me already but I kinda rejected him." Kushina has her gaze stuck on the ground.

"What's making you hesitate to take a step forward. Cant you give him a chance?" Mikoto asked.

"I just..cant. It feels so wrong and selfish if I get myself on a relationship with him, without him knowing the whole truth about me." Kushina let out a deep sigh.

"Huh? You've been bestfriends for quite a long time and he is your closest friend. What does he _not_ know about you?" Mikoto asked.

"I guess I have no choice but spill out the beans to you. Im the jinchuriki of the nine tails, it's a confidencial secret that only the Hokage and few of the elders know. I want you to keep it a secret, okay?" Kushina looked at her shocked friend. It looks like she's gonna pass out.

"Mikoto?" Kushina blinked twice and waved her hand in front of her friend's face.

Mikoto finally had gotten back to her old self. "Oh sorry Kushina, I was just surprised about what you said. You could've warned me first you know? I didn't know that those tailed beasts really exist. Im sure Minato-kun would not turn his back on you over something trivial like this. Trust me." Mikoto stroked her friend's back before she stood up to leave.

"I have to go now. My parents might be worrying about me, I was actually running an errand for them. Bye!" she ran and rushed her way home.

Kushina's thinking about whether she'll take Mikoto's advice or not. She went back to her apartment and plopped herself unto her bed. After half an hour of lying down and thinking if she should do it or not, she has finally decided.

_"I'll tell him..." _the red head smiled as she closed her eyes and went to sleep.

The next morning, Mikoto is walking through the streets of Konoha with her fiancee'.

_"Why do I have to get stuck with this?" _Mikoto sighed as she recalled the events that happened last night.

_Flashback:_

_After running a few errands for her parents, Mikoto rushed straight back home, carrying heavy loads of grocery items and ingredients for their supper. No one could've imagined that a small and fragile looking girl like her could carry loads that heavy. She was panting as she arrived home. As she dropped the groceries down the table, she went up to her room and started dozing off. She was really exhausted and all she wanted now is to get some sleep. Unfortunately, her mother barged inside her room and told her to join them at the table._

_When she reached the dining room, she was surprised to see the amount and variety of food being prepared on the table. They have guests._

_Mikoto squinted her eyes to get a closer look of the visitors. They look familiar, where could've she possibly seen them before? Then it came back to her. They were... they were Fugaku's parents. She remembered it all clearly now. They arrived during Fugaku's graduation. The question is, why are they here?_

_Fugaku's mother spoke. "Hello there Mikoto-chan, Fugaku would be here in a bit. Let's have a little chit chat while we're waiting. The moment he arrives here, then we'll get to discuss the reason why we are having a celebration today."_

_Mikoto has this feeling that they are up to something, but she just couldn't tell what. When Fugaku finally arrived, she was hearing the unexpected..._

_"Starting from now on, Fugaku Uchiha and Mikoto Takahashi are officially engaged."_

_It took Mikoto several minutes before she was able to digest what they just said. In her head, she was imagining herself with Fugaku and their kids who would soon become serial killers or S-ranked ninjas who work for an illegal organization or something like that. She shaked the thoughts away and tried her best not to throw a fit or a tantrum. She is definitely pissed of right now. How dare they decide for her future, they are manipulating her and yet she feels so helpless. She is not in the position to argue or disagree with them. Fugaku is the next heir on becoming the head of the Uchiha clan. No wonder her parents easily agreed on this engagement._

_"Oh, is that all you wanted to tell me? I'm kinda sleepy so I'll go to bed." Mikoto mustered a fake smile as she went back to her bedroom and slammed the door. She wished that this was all a dream._

_end of flashback..._

The raven haired girl sighed. _"They even forced me to hang out with him."_

"Baka Fugaku! why didn't you disagree to them? Why do they have to treat me like I do not have any choice in this? they haven't even asked my opinion about it before making their final desicion." Mikoto blurted out and covered her mouth. She was not supposed to say that.

Fugaku looked at her. "It's not like I have a choice. Planning an engagement has been a tradition in our clan."

Mikoto is really pissed off. "I dont give a damn about that stupid tradition!"

Fugaku laughed. "You're really cute when you're mad. Do you really hate me that much?"

"Baka! Isn't it obvious? Hey! isn't that Minato-kun? who is that girl she's with?" Mikoto said as she looked through the glass window in a nearby cafe.

"She is the daughter of the feudal lord. We escorted her during our last mission." Fugaku said.

"She's really pretty dont you think? Im sure they're just hanging out or something right?" Mikoto asked worriedly.

"Dont know. You'll have to ask Minato about that." Fugaku said as he saw Minato waving his hand to them.

"He saw us." Mikoto said as she smiled back. After the two finished eating their meal, both of them went outside and Minato introduced Hikari to Mikoto.

"Hikari, this is Mikoto Uchiha, a close friend of mine and Mikoto, meet Hikari." Minato said.

"Hello Hikari! It's nice to meet you princess." Mikoto said with an encouraging smile.

"Likewise.." Hikari said before turning her gaze back to Minato again. She didn't even give the slightest interest at her.

"Umm.. may I ask why you're together?" Mikoto couldn't help but ask.

"We are dating." Minato said.

Mikoto was so shocked. "W-What? are you serious?"

The princess gave Mikoto a hateful glare. "What he is saying is true. You have a problem with that?"

"I can't believe you can do this kind of thing to Kushina! I dont know what she'll do if she learns about this!" Mikoto gave a sour look to the blonde before walking away, dragging her fiancee' with her.

"Wait Mikoto, you dont understand-" Minato shouted but he was too late. Mikoto is already out of sight.

The princess raised an eyebrow. "What's with her?"

"Nothing." Minato sighed.

While Mikoto ran through the streets to find her red haired friend. _"I cant believe it! I thought he liked Kushina, then why is he going out with that girl?"_

* * *

end of chapter...

Note: the word _baka _means "idiot" in japanese in case you don't know.

Lots of drama will happen in the next chapter so stay tuned! XD

Once again. I apologize for the late update!

Hugs and Kisses XD


	16. Retrieval

Ciao! I was so motivated since I got a lot of support from last chapter so I decided to update earlier than usual. Thanks a lot for the reviews, favorites and follows! I was reading a few stories here in this website and I felt like my story is trash compared to theirs. I thought that I really needed a beta-reader for my story so... is there anyone available? Your help would be highly appreciated.

**Red Hot Habanero-** Well, sorry if the plot is too fast. I think I should slow things a bit. :)

I do not own Naruto... It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

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Chapter Sixteen

Retrieval Plan

A deep sigh escaped the mouth of a blonde teenager who is currently with his date at a famous cafe. He couldn't help but feel a little uneasy with the thought of Mikoto being enraged with him awhile ago, but what bothers him the most is the last sentence she said before she left.

_"I cant believe you could do this kind of thing to Kushina, I dont know what she'll do if she learns about this!" _

Mikoto is a shrewd person, he knows that she wouldn't get angry without any particular reason. Thoughts like _"Why did she think that Kushina will be affected by this?" _ and _"Is it possible that she knows more about Kushina than I do?" _kept running through his thoughts.

Hikari is getting a little worried about him. He's been paying less atention to her and all he did was either sip on his coffee and stare through the window. It's like she isn't there at all. This is not what she expected from their first date.

"Minato, are you still worrying over what that girl said? I was hoping that you'll pay a little more attention to our date since it's our first." Hikari scooched a little closer to him which made him flinch a little because of the distance between them. Hikari leaned her face towards him and before he knew what will happen next, he felt her lips unto his.

It felt wet and gross, but he wouldn't tell her that because it would be impolite of him. Instead, he pulled away and told her. "I think it's a little too early for this."

Hikari turned her gaze away from him and she gasped as she saw the red haired kunoichi staring at them. Minato's eyes widened as he saw her. _"Shit! This is not what she is supposed to see. I dont think I even have the guts to face her." _He stood up from his seat and left his date. The only thing concerning him now is how to explain things to Kushina.

As soon as she saw Minato stand up, she prepared to leave. This is not the right time for them to talk. She's using every ounce of strength she had to keep herself from shedding a tear. An encounter with him would make it worse or maybe she'll end up tearing up in front of him.

After quite some time, Minato was able to keep up with her. He gripped her hand tightly and she turned around, facing him.

"What do you want Minato? I dont want to ruin your little date! Just go away! Dont worry, I'm fine." Kushina said.

Minato was remained unconvinced. "It doesn't seem like it." He pointed at her cheeks and she held up her hands to touch it. She felt warm liquid running through her cheeks, she didn't realize that she was already crying.

He took out a handkerchief from his pocket and attempted to wipe away her tears, but as his hand was getting closer to her face, Kushina shoved it away and yelled at him. "Can't you see that I wanted to be alone?! Why are you so damn stubborn?"

Minato sighed and told her. "Just tell me why you're so angry at me and let me explain-"

"Im so tired of your lies! I can't believe that I trusted what you said about _liking_ me but after seeing what happened earlier, I cursed myself for being such a fool! I was about to confess something to you, I was really looking forward to this day but now I've decided, from now on, I'll stay away from you. To this day forward, treat me as if I am a stranger." Kushina said before turning away.

"Wait! You've got it all wrong! Let me explain first, okay?" Minato said.

Kushina turned around to face him, she looked pissed off. "Okay, I'll give you thirty seconds."

"1" Kushina continued counting.

"Where should I start? Okay, umm.. Last night Hikari was talking to me and-"

"You have 20 seconds left idiot!" Kushina continued counting.

"Hikari asked me if I should give her a chance and I agreed so I asked her on a date and that kiss from earlier, was really unexpected. It's not that I like her or anything-"

"Time is up! I've made my decision, I'll distance myself from you, got that?" Kushina said as she started walking.

"Wait! why are you acting like this all of a sudden, I already explained myself right? Is there something wrong in what I did?" Minato asked.

"Nothing really. I just dont want to be a hindrance for the both of you and besides I'll just end up being a burden to you if you continue sticking with me." Kushina smiled at him and waved goodbye.

_"I still dont get it... Maybe I should ask Mikoto about this. She may know something I dont." _the blonde thought as he made his way to the cafe where he left Hikari.

"Hikari, Im sorry about our ruined date. I promise I'll make it up to you next time. I just have some important matters to attend to." Minato looked at her upset face.

"Sure, it's okay. You're a ninja after all, it's expected that you'll be busy from time to time. It's fine, you can go if you must." Hikari smiled as she picked up her bag and got ready to leave.

When she met up with her bodyguards, she knew all along that this "important matter" Minato was talking about is somehow related with Kushina, there's no doubt about it.

Once she arrived at her villa, she spoke to one of her trusted servants. "Rokudo, may I speak with you for awhile?" she signaled him to follow her to an empty room.

"I would like you to do me a favor and I'm expecting you not to fail in this one. Do you know Kushina Uzumaki? I want you to follow her secretly, then when the time is right, kill her or you could use some kind of trap, or kidnap her if you wish. Do what is convenient to make this a success. You can use any means to get rid of her. I'll double your pay from now on if this becomes successful, understood?" The raven haired princess smirked.

"Understood. I will not fail you, princess. I'll take my leave."

Hikari smiled and told him before he left. "And by the way, I want this to be a secret. No one must learn of this, it's only between the two of us, understood?"

"Yes my lady."

The next morning, Minato decided to give Mikoto a visit, even though he feels that Mikoto might be still angry at him. _"Here goes nothing." _He thought as he knocked at her door.

The door flung open and he saw her standing on the doostep with her arms crossed. "What do you want?"

"Kushina's been acting strange lately. I just wanted to ask you if you know the reason behind it, I may be her bestfriend but I think you know her more than I do. Its been bugging me lately, Im worried about her." Minato said while fidgeting.

Mikoto gasped as she remembered what Kushina told her the other day. "Sorry Minato, but even if I knew something, I wouldn't tell you. It's up to her if she wants to reveal it or not. Im really sorry about that. Im kinda busy today so you may leave."

"It's okay. If she wants to keep it a secret then I'll respect that." Minato smiled at her before leaving.

He found himself walking towards Kushina's house. "Im too worried about her that I didn't realize I was going here."

Much to his surprise, he saw his sensei and several anbu officials standing at the front of her house. He approached Jiraiya and asked him. "Why are you guys here? Did something happen?"

Jiraiya looked at Minato's worried face. He knows that if he told him what happened, he will feel worse. But even though if it turns out that way, it is only right to tell him the truth. "Kushina's been missing ever since this morning, that's why the Hokage ordered an investigation in this place and a search party to find her. Dont worry, your sensei can handle it."

"But I just cant stand here and do nothing! I have to help her! What if those kidnappers got her again?" Minato said in an unusual louder tone than usual.

"Minato! There's nothing more you can do. Just leave it to us and go home or train." Jiraiya said ain a stern voice.

"But-" Minato stopped insisting when he saw his sensei's strict glare. He knew he had no choice but to listen.

"Ok, just promise to bring her home safely. I dont know what I'll do if something bad happened to her." Minato said before leaving.

On his way home, he was so occupied in his thoughts that he didn't realize that he was about to bump into somebody.

"Umpf!"

"Are you okay?" Minato said before he opened his eyes.

"Fugaku?"

"Pay attention where you're going next time, okay? We heard that Kushina was missing so we're about to go to her house and see if the rumors are true." Fugaku said as Mikoto suddenly appeared at his side.

"It's true all right, I've been there. I really wanted to help but Jiraiya insists that I should just leave it to him. That old geezer, he does not understand me at all." Minato sulked.

"Your so immature Minato, we're not little kids anymore. Are you just gonna sulk there and do nothing?" Mikoto asked.

"I dont know what to do anymore! Im so confused since yesterday!" Minato shouted.

"You know what Im thinking Mikoto?" Fugaku smirked.

"Yeah, let's form a team and search for Kushina, you joining Minato?" Mikoto smiled reassuringly.

"Count me in! but aren't we just breaking the rules by doing this?" Minato said.

"You may be right but we just can't abandon our friends." Fugaku said while reaching out a hand to Minato, helping him stand up.

Minato accepted his hand and stood up. "Thanks. You've changed a lot Fugaku."

Mikoto giggled at them and said. "Now what are we waiting for? Let's get prepared for tonight, because we're sneaking out of the village, got it?"

The two guys nodded and parted ways to pack their things needed for the trip, because no one knows how long they'll be gone. They do not plan on returning to the village unless Kushina returns safely.

Meanwhile...

Hikari is currently drinking her tea with a lingering smile on her face.

_"Once I get rid of that pest, Minato will be all mine."_ Just the thought of it made her chuckle which resulted to make her sister feel worried about her sudden behavior.

"Hikari, are you all right? You seem unusually happy today." Her sister smiled.

"Yeah, do you know the feeling of liking someone, then you realize that the one you yearned for will return your feelings after all this time?" Hikari said dreamily.

"How can you predict that he will like you back out of the blue? It's not like you are a fortune teller or something." Her sister answered while she sipped on her tea.

"Yeah, Im not a fortune teller but planning for it makes all the difference. You'll know sooner or later." She looked through the window as she smirked.

As midnight falls, the three of them met up at the village entrance.

"Good! everyone arrived on time." Mikoto said cheerfully.

"This is such a drag, I haven't told my parents about this yet. I just sneaked out, so are we supposed to expect a big punishment as soon as we return?" Fugaku said while scratching his head.

"You do have a point but it's worth the risk if we manage to save one friend right?" Minato said.

From the bushes, they could hear a hustling sound.

"Who are you?" Fugaku said while he grabbed a kunai from his holster.

A man appeared in front of them.

"Oh it's nothing! It's just your beloved Jiraiya-sensei! You're planning to sneak out aren't you?" the white haired shinobi said.

"Are you gonna try to stop us?" Minato said with an intense glare in his eyes.

"Quite the contrary, actually Im going to help you out but if you dont want to then fine." Jiraiya said.

"Why are you helping us all of a sudden? This morning, you made it clear to me that I shouldn't do anything about it. Is this some kind of trap?" Minato said.

"You're too suspicious for your own good. I was just testing you if you're up for this. Now that I've seen that you're willing to break the rules just to save a friend, you proved yourself to me. You have guts! Even though you made me proud, I was a bit disappointed at the same time, you spent three whole years with me and you still think that Im the kind of sensei who encourages my student to do completely nothing? I cant believe you!" Jiraiya mimicked a fake cry.

Mikoto threw a kunai at the man and said. "Quit your nonsense talk and let's get going."

Jiraiya evaded her throw but he had a frown on his face. "You're still as mean as ever Miko-chan!"

As they were leaping from tree to tree, making their way through the forests. Minato asked something. "Sensei? do you know where Kushina is?"

Jiraiya grinned at him. "Beats the hell out of me!"

He could feel evil glares coming from the three. He began sweating so hard.

"And I thought you would be of some help to us. You're just a useless old geezer after all." Mikoto said.

"You ungrateful little girl! I was just joking, of course. We'll manage to find her somehow. Hahaha!" Jiraiya laughed but the three remained unconvinced. They knew that their sensei was actually telling the truth earlier. He just made up an excuse so that they wont get disappointed.

"Oh really? then tell us where she is then." Mikoto said with a smirk.

Jiraiya gulps.

Meanwhile in the most secluded parts of the forest, a redhead and a bandit covered in black clothes tied her up in a tree.

"What do you want?" the redhead screamed with anger.

"You're such a stubborn fella aren't you? You gave me a hard time in capturing you. I'll make sure you'll die a painful death."

He started to cut some cloth and wrap it around a portion of her face, just covering her mouth so she would stop screaming.

"What shall I do with you? How about I start cutting of parts of your body by piece? that would be exciting." Rokudo smiled evily. He sensed that someone is nearby, so he hid for awhile.

From a far, he could see a boy- wait, there are four of them. What could they be possibly be doing here in the forests so late at night? As soon as Kushina caught sight of them, she started screaming but it was no use. No sound ever comes out through the cloth banded around her.

"Gah! I wish we could've brought a sensory ninja or some visual ninja around so that we could at least scan through the place." Mikoto pouted.

"Why would you think that they're still here? I mean, Kushina's been gone since this morning. Im sure they could have brought her far away from here." Fugaku replied.

"Somehow, I have this feeling that she's still here. I just know it." Minato said. After a moment of silence, Fugaku spoke.

"I got it! I know that the sharingan wont be as useful as the byakugan during times like these but it would help if I give it a try." Fugaku closed his eyes and once he opened them, glowing red eyes appeared.

"I can sense someone other than us in this forest... There are two of them to be exact. Dont let down your guard. It seems like one of them is an experienced ninja and there's something strange about this other one, the other person holds a huge amount of chakra reserves, it seems like this person is no ordinary ninja cause not even the Hokage has that many chakra reserves, it's just impossible." Fugaku said.

Jiraiya had this hypothesis that this could be Kushina and her captor. Earlier this morning, when the incident happened, the Hokage summoned him and a few of the anbu officials.

_"I raise the village into level one security alert! You have to find her at once. You dont know what she could possibly do if she gets harmed."_

_"Why do you worry so much Sarutobi-sensei?" Jiraiya said._

_"Kushina Uzumaki is the jinchuriki of the nine tails. She is very important to Konoha, someone might have taken advantage of this because she's still just a kid. We have to find her immediately and bring her back safe." The Hokage said._

This is one of the rare times that Jiraiya would see his sensei so frustrated. He is actually a calm and collected type of person, seeing him like this only means one thing, this is a serious matter not to be taken lightly. He remembered that when he was just starting off as a ninja, Sarutobi would compare him to Orochimaru, even up till now. Even though he is well acknowledged by others because he is entitled as one of the legendary sannin, he still wanted to prove himself to his teacher.

"Fugaku tell me their locations, I'll take care of them." Jiraiya said.

"Are you kidding sensei? We dont know who we're up against. Based on Fugaku's statement, I think they're really strong opponents. Maybe even you can't match up to their strength." Minato said.

"There's nothing I can't handle. Trust me on this." Jiraiya said with a smile.

"Sensei, I found them. Two o'clock northeast. The trail going there leads us to the heart of the forest." Fugaku said.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Mikoto mumbled before they went on to change route.

end of chapter...

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I know that this is a crappy chapter and a little short...Thankyou for all the support. XD Next chapter is about their encounter with them so stay tuned.

To be continued...

Hugs and Kisses =)


	17. Encounter

It's because someone requested me to update faster, here it is! I hope you like it! Thanks for all the reviews, follows and favorites :)

I want to say thanks to KatoKimeka-chan, Kamahamaha, mimichiro and guest (whoever that is) for reviewing! Really appreciate it!

I apologize if ever there are some grammar errors in this chapter. Please let me know me if you see it disturbing. I'll fix it immediately.

I do not own Naruto... It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

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Chapter Seventeen

Encounter

"Sensei, are you sure about this?" Mikoto asked worriedly. From what she just heard from Fugaku, the ones they're approaching are out of the ordinary. "Why don't we just leave them alone and search for Kushina?"

Random thoughts started to run through her mind like a flash, then she remembered the conversation she had with Kushina the other day. _"Wait! I got it! Now I understand why sensei's been tailing after them."_

Her face lit up into a smile_ "I'm so stupid, how could I even forget. Kushina told me she's a jinchuriki so the one we're after must be her and her captor. There's nothing to worry about after all. Our opponent is outnumbered, there's a chance we'll win." _Mikoto smiled and all her fears and worries faded.

"Why are you smiling all of a sudden Mikoto?" Minato asked.

"It's nothing, let's hurry before they get away!" Mikoto said as she leaped from a tree branch to another.

"What's with the sudden change of mood Miko-chan? It must be your time of the month." Jiraiya laughed with the usual perverted grin on his face.

Fugaku starts twitching his eyebrows. "Seriously, this is not the time for this.."

Minato just looked at his sensei with confusion written all over his face. "Sensei, what do you mean by 'her time of the month', I don't get it."

Mikoto facepalmed. "You're so innocent Minato, just let the topic drop would you?"

_"For such a genious kid, he could be so slow in things like these."_

Jiraiya happily lifted a finger and acted as if he was about to say something very informative. "Good question my dear student! It is the time when some teenage girls turns into an unstoppable killing machine, so be careful not to piss them off."

Mikoto glared at the toad hermit. "You should take your own advice, lucky for you we're on a mission or else." Her body seemed like it was emmiting a dark aura accompanied with an image of shinigami with blazing red eyes, as if it was about to take Jiraiya's life.

While the two kept on bickering with each other, Minato is rather focused on searching for their target. He cant explain it but he has this intuition that Kushina is near. He was so occupied in his thoughts that he didn't realize that he is moving in a faster pace than them. As soon as he got back to his senses, after a long time of spacing out, he felt fear creep into him as he saw a man standing in front of him, merely five meters away.

It was a cloudy night, so all he saw is a black silhouette. Judging from its figure, it is not some wild animal or any inhabitant who resides in this forest. Instead it was a figure of a muscular man who looks experienced enough in battle and can be classified as jounin class. Minato gulped as his fear grew, he felt his hand tremble as he tried to get a weapon from his holster.

As the wind blew, leaves fluttered as it produced a hustling sound that echoed through the woods. The cool breeze swept against his cheeks, making him feel overwhelmed with the fear he is experiencing now. The scene started to get intense. The moon that was once overshadowed by the clouds began to shine its light upon them, illuminating the path thus revealing the face of this mysterious man he had an encounter with. This man smiled warmly at him, though his instincts tells him not to fall for this person's act. This mysterious man began to speak.

"There's no need to worry, young man. I bring you no harm. I am lost so would you please direct me through the right path?" he sincerely said with utmost politeness.

"Sorry but I'm in a hurry to find someone and I got seperated from my friends. I have to leave." Minato said and only a few moments after saying that, he heard someone squirm.

He looked around, wondering where the sound came from. He caught a glance of something red, it's shade was too familiar. There's no doubt about it.

"Kushina!" he shouted. At that moment, he ran towards her without even noticing that someone was about to stab him.

Kushina felt tears escaping her eyes as she witnessed one of her friends going all through this trouble just to save her. After all the rude things she said to him, he still came for her. Whenever she felt lonely or troubled, he was always there to help and comfort her.

And there he was, left unconscious on the ground, with no assurance on whether he is still alive or not.

_"Why does it have to turn out this way? It's the same thing over again. I always end up being saved by him. I feel so weak and helpess. I can't even protect someone important to me. I'm tired of being the damsel in distress. This time would be different..."_

_"this time it's my turn to save him." _

She felt a surge of energy run through every chakra system in her body, she never felt this empowered before. Something doesn't feel right though, her body started to heal wounds by itself and there's something weird about her chakra. It's not the usual everyday chakra she used to have. This felt different. It was _red._

Opening her eyes, blue-violet eyes morphed into scarlet red ones, like those of a fox's.

"A jinchuriki eh? interesting... " the man said.

She growled at him and a red cloak started to form around her body causing the rope that bonded her to the tree loosen. She felt her body move by itself as if it has its own mind.

She let out a loud growl and she pounced at him, but as she suspected, he is no ordinary ninja. He is fast. No matter how much she increased her agility level, he always managed to dodge her attacks with ease.

"Is that all you can do? what a worthless jinchuriki..." he said as he let out a chuckle. He pulled out a long samurai sword from his sheath and swiftly stabbed her body causing a deep cut which inflicted a wound. Kushina yelped in pain as blood started to drip from her right arm. She panted and thought of a strategy on how to defeat him. She is not that experienced in battle because her sensei always relied on Fugaku and Ken to do the fighting while he guarded Kushina. Ever since she became a jinchuriki, her sensei became overprotective of her and the only way she could improve her skills is by training. Her wounds started to heal after some time but the pain she had to go through is unbearable.

"Pathetic... you can't even lay a finger on me." the man said.

"There is something I don't understand, you're not like the rest who came for me because of the desire for power. Tell me, what's your purpose for killing me? It doesn't make any sense, are you after the beast sealed within me? I just don't get it." Kushina said.

"Let's just say Im just a humble servant who wants to please its master." the man grinned as he made his move. Kushina was able to dodge the first set of attacks with ease but as her exhaustion grew, all she could do is either block it or endure the cuts and wounds inflicted on her.

_"Can I keep this up? No matter how hard I tried looking for an opening, this guy's defense is flawless. I have to find a way... I'll never give up!"_ With that final thought, she gave all that she had and tried to launch a chakra empowered punch on him but before she was able to reach him, he got her first. His sword went through her stomach and she felt her body go numb.

_"Does my life end here?..." _her vision started to blur until all she could see is darkness. Rubbing her eyes, she saw herself in a dark cell, with high walls towering over her. She has never been to this place before but it seems familiar to her. Walking through the halls, she could feel a strange presence. She followed her insticts and she found herself standing in front of a huge cage. The interior of it was dim and she could not see anything in it, but she could feel a presence so strong. A deep voice spoke.

_"Kushina Uzumaki..."_

The strange voice frightened her, there's this feeling of hatred and evil accompanied with it."Who are you?" her voice is stuttering.

_"No one special..." _He stepped closer near the cage and Kushina's eyes widened as she saw him.

"Kyuubi!"

_"Hmm... there's a bargain I wanted to offer you." _the fox smirked.

"Nothing good comes out from a monster like you! You have no mercy. I read in some history books that you attacked the whirlpool village and wiped out almost every person on sight hundred of years ago."

_"True, but this case is different. You are currently in a life or death situation. If you die, the same goes for me. It would take several years before I get resurrected again and I don't want that kind of thing to happen."_

"Okay, I'll hear you out."

_"I'm not asking much from you... all I want is that you let me free from this cage. See that paper seal over there? Peel it off and this cage would open, then I could lend you some of my power."_

"Are you trying to trick me? If you think I'll fall for your obvious trap, you're wrong. And besides, there's no guarantee that you'll keep your promise. I can't trust a monster who almost annihilated my village centuries ago."

_"Even if It's true that I am conceived as a monster and a beast by the majority, you have no choice but to agree on it. When it comes down to this, I stay truthful to my words."_

"Okay you win... but before I remove the seal, I'll have to do this as a safety first." Kushina released a set of chakra chains from her body. This is the exact reason she is the most suited one to be the jinchuriki of the nine tails. She has this unique chakra strong enough to suppress the Kyuubi. The chakra chains began wrapping itself around the Kyuubi's body causing him to struggle so that he could break free.

_"Looks like I've underestimated you... I guess I have no choice."_

Meanwhile, Jiraiya and the others ran through the forests in search for Minato. "Geez... that kid ran off on his own again. I hope he's fine. Are we getting close to our target?"

"Yes, only three kilometers ahead." Fugaku said.

"Good... I hope we're not too late." Jiraiya said worriedly.

Kushina felt her body regain conciousness and a red cloak started to envelop her body. Her eyes began turning into red slitted ones and she began growing fangs and claws. A tail sprouted from her back and she felt a strong surge of power running through her veins. She felt like she could defeat anyone who dare cross her path. Now she truly understands why the Kyuubi is feared by many, he is definitely a force to be reckoned with.

"So.. you're still alive? I'm impressed that even after the damages you received, you still had the strength to stand up and fight. Why don't you just give up? No matter how much you try, it's all wasted effort. You're useless." Rokudo said as he surged forward to launch an attack. A mere split second passed and he found her standing behind him. Kushina used her claws to cut through his flesh. It was severely deep and painful as hell. He yelped in pain as he felt her sharp claws being buried beneath his flesh and muscles. As she pulled her hand out, blood started to drip from his wounds and he collapsed to the ground with a dumbstruck impression on his face. The pain he is feeling right now is far from anyone could ever imagine, it was like throwing yourself into a pit of flames and every second of it felt like hours. He could not take it anymore.

"How ironic... What were you saying again? Killing you right now would be such a bore. It would be more worthwhile to watch you getting tormented like this. This is only a small price to pay after what you did to Minato." Kushina felt scared upon hearing her own words, she was never a sadist. The Kyuubi is slowly influencing her speech and actions.

A soft voice spoke "Kushina?"

end of chapter...

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I know that I suck at writing action. I'm a poor excuse of a writer :(

I apologize for the length of this chapter. It's because it's been such a long time since I last ended my chapters with a cliffhanger. In the last part of this chapter, someone spoke. Can you guess who it is? Is Minato dead or not? These questions would be answered in the upcoming chapters so stay tuned. XD

to be continued...

Hugs and Kisses!


	18. Flashbacks from the Past

Thank you for the wonderful reviews, follows and favorites! I love you all! Sorry to keep you waiting. When laziness strikes, there's nothing I can do about it. It might take some time before I update my next chapter but as I promised, I'll try my best to update within a week. I hope you like it!

I do not own Naruto... It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Chapter Eighteen

Flashbacks from the Past

"Kushina?" the familiar voice caught the red-head's attention. She gasped as soon as she saw who it was.

Meanwhile, Hikari is in her room staring at the dark sky. There were barely any stars at sight and the moon is a little blurry. She stayed up the entire evening because she found it difficult to sleep with all the bothersome things running through her thoughts. Her loyal servant, Rokudo hasn't returned yet. She has been suspecting that there's a possibility that someone found out about his motive with the red-head and tried to stop him. Worst case scenario is, what if somebody found out she was behind all this? What would she do? What would her parents think if they learned about it? She deeply sighed.

Even though if somebody knew what Rokudo was scheming, she knew that whatever the circumstances may be, he will stay loyal to her and defend her till the very end. He is not the type of person to reveal one's motive, you could blackmail him, threaten him or torture him and still he would still keep quiet about it. Hikari recalled those times when she was still a little girl, that day when she first met him.

_Flashback:_

_A six year old princess is having a picnic with her family in a resort. She wanted to play at the beach but her parents did not allow her to do so. They were afraid that something bad might happen to her. Watching the other children happily play at the beachside tempted her so much. She just watched them from her window and sighed._

_When it was already midnight, she took this as a chance to sneak out. Almost everyone are already asleep, except for some kids who are playing near the shore, watching the meteor shower._

_She managed to escape her bodyguards and she happily smiled as she approached the shore. She tried to mingle with the other kids but most of them would avoid her, most of the children know that she is the feudal lord's daughter so they've been told by their parents to stay away from her. It's because of the reason that sometimes it would be unavoidable that children would cause conflict with other kids. It would be best to cut off any means of communication from the princess. They're afraid that if their child has done something offensive or disrespectful to her, they'll get in trouble._

_As she noticed that everyone was avoiding her like she's some sort of pest or carrier of disease, she convinced herself that no matter what she does, no one would bother to talk to her, so she just sat in one corner playing with a starfish using a stick._

_She drifted to her own world, trying to distract her attention from the other kids who are playing blissfully under the full moon._

_"Hey! what are you doing here alone? you should play with them you know? It aint fun sitting in one corner while playing with some starfish. By the way, my name is Rokudo. I have not seen you around here before, are you new here?" the friendly boy smiled at her. He was at least two years older than her._

_Hikari nodded in response. She is not used at socializing with other people, considering the fact that she's been all alone and she never had any friend._

_"Come on! Dont be shy, I'm not a bad guy. May I know what's your name?" Rokudo asked._

_"My name is Hikari. Nice to meet you Rokudo..." Hikari shyly replied._

_Rokudo grabbed the princess by her wrists and said. "Come with me, I'll show you around. There's a lot of fun things we can do. I bet you have not seen the best thing in this island here yet."_

_Hikari's lip crept up into a smile and she willingly joined him. They played at the sea and he tried teaching her how to swim. They frolicked at the soft sand and built sand castles. She has never felt this happy before._

_"So this is what it feels to have a friend." she thought._

_"Want to see my favorite spot here in this island? It's quite far from here but it would be worth it, trust me on this." Rokudo said._

_Hikari nodded and told him. "Let's go."_

_He brought her to a secluded place, there's barely any people there. Hikari started to feel scared all of a sudden._

_"Where are we going?" she asked._

_"It's a secret.." he smiled._

_He covered her eyes using his hands and guided her to the place. As he released his hands from her eyes, she gasped as she saw what was in front of her._

_"It's so pretty..." she said in amusement._

_"I know it is." Rokudo said in response._

_end of flashback..._

She could still remember that scene clearly. How could she forget? It was the day when she first had a friend. Remembering those times she spent with him, she even became more worried than she was before.

"Rokudo, where are you?"

Meanwhile at the forest...

"Jiraiya sensei!"

"What is it Mikoto?" Jiraiya asked.

"Look!" she pointed a finger at a figure just a few meters away.

"Kushina?" Fugaku murmured as he saw the red head, _"but there's definitely something wrong with her, why does she look somewhat strange? and when did she ever had those claws and tails? did something happen while we were away? or maybe im just mistaking her for another girl."_ They are hiding behind a bush.

Although Mikoto and Jiraiya knew that Kushina is a jinchuriki, it was their first time to see one up close. They were astonished at what they are seeing. She looks like a monster.

Mikoto took a glance at Fugaku and noticed him to have the same reaction as hers, only twice as worse. She didn't know how to explain things to him because this matter is considered as top secret, but considering the circumstances they are right now, there's no other choice but to tell him.

"Is that Kushina?" Fugaku asked her.

Mikoto hesitated at first but she already made her desicion to tell him about it. "Yes, she's the jinchuriki of the ninetails."

"But how? She's been my teammate for a couple of years now... why didn't she even said a single word about it?" Fugaku is so confused.

"Asides from the reason that this is something confidential, it's also her decision not to tell you about it." Mikoto said.

"I get it... she's scared that maybe someone close to her would abandon her if they knew." Fugaku lowered his head and let out a deep sigh. He turned his gaze back at his demon possessed teammate and noticed that someone else is there.

"Isn't that Minato? Oh man, he's beat. We have to move fast!" Mikoto said loudly as she was about to approach him. A tight hand gripped her by the wrists.

"Shh!" Fugaku whispered.

"Why? are you telling me to just leave Minato there and let him bleed to death?" Mikoto asked.

"There's someone out there.. It would be dangerous to act without planning." Fugaku said as he loosened his grip on her.

"Okay, okay. Let go of me already, would you?" Mikoto stared at her wrists.

"Hn.." Fugaku released her hands and looked back at the scene. From a distance, he could see a man who looked like he was torn up to shreds. He could barely move and he kept wincing from the pain.

_"Is this Kushina's doing?" _Fugaku was shocked. He never saw Kushina fight. For some reason he always wondered why Sakumo wont let her join the battle whenever they are in a mission. Now he understood why.

_"He's afraid that Kushina might break out and unleash the power of the nine tails if she gets harmed."_

He noticed the redhead look at him and he noticed her gasp. He decides to reveal himself to her and tell her that it's fine and there's nothing she should worry about.

"Fugaku?!"

"Kushina, it's okay. I know about it already, Mikoto told me." Fugaku approached her.

"You don't despise me or anything?" Kushina looked confused.

Fugaku smiled at her, trying his best to make her feel better. The problem is, he was never good at it. His smile always looked fake even though sometimes he really meant it. "Why would I? You're still my friend and besides, even if you are the vessel for the nine tails, you would always be the Kushina I know."

Kushina's face retorted into a smile. She feels so relieved to know that there is another person who could accept her as she is. "Thank you... don't tell Ken about this yet, okay?"

"Sure. By the way, does Minato know?" Fugaku asked.

Kushina didn't respond to his reply. After moments of waiting, she finally shooked her head _no_ and her eyes seemed like begging for Fugaku not to say anything about this to him.

"I see... I'll keep it a secret if that's what you want me to do." Fugaku sighed.

Rokudo could not find the strength to stand back up and fight. Vague memories of the past soared through his thoughts.

_Flashback:_

_"That was great Rokudo" Hikari smiled._

_"I'm glad you had fun. Visit us again next time if you have the time, okay?" Rokudo said._

_Hikari's face turned into a frown. "but... my parents are very busy people and it might take several years before I come back. There's even the possibility I'll never return."_

_"oh... is that so? If that's the case, I'll find a way to see you again, I promise." Rokudo grinned at her._

_"I'll wait for that and I'm hoping to see you again soon." Hikari waved goodbye as she returned to her cottage that night._

_Three years after..._

_"Hikari... you have a visitor." the maid told Hikari._

_"Okay, tell the visitor that I'll be going down to see him for a while." Hikari yawned and stretched her arms._

_"Who is this visitor anyway? Coming here first thing in the morning." Hikari mumbled as she went downstairs._

_"Hello Hikari... Long time no see." Rokudo said shyly, worrying that maybe she already had forgotten about him._

_"Rokudo? Is that you?" she looked at the frame of an eleven year old boy. He looks skinny and abused from work. He looks so much different from the last time she saw him._

_"I'm glad you remembered..." Rokudo said feeling slightly relieved._

_Hikari rolled her eyes. "How could I forget? You are my one and only friend for pete's sake."_

_Rokudo laughed at her new attitude, she used to be so shy and reserved. Time changes people, I guess. "Sorry if it took quite a while for me to visit you, I had problems back at home and I didn't have enough money. Good thing you're popular, I somehow managed to know where you live by asking different people on the way here. How are you?"_

_"I'm fine and well. Problems at home? what happened to you?" Hikari concernly asked._

_"My dad is a fisherman and he is the only one supporting the family. He became terribly sick just two years ago and he cannot continue on doing his job. Since i'm the eldest, I have to take over for him and earn money for my family, which as you can see isn't enough to feed them thrice a day. I've managed to save some money from my earnings so that I could fulfill my promise to you."_

_Hikari felt guilty. He had to go through all this burden just to see her again. She had to repay him."Im sorry for causing you all this trouble. I could help you earn sufficient money for your family if you want. I would find a way so that you could work here."_

_"Thankyou so much for your hospitality but are you sure it's okay?" Rokudo asked._

_"Sure. From now on, your family wont have to starve. I'll even send a professional doctor to heal your father from his illness. I have to repay my debt to you." Hikari said._

_The next day forward, Rokudo worked for Hikari as her personal servant._

_end of flashback..._

Rokudo felt the urge to do something. He needs to fight back, no matter what happens he has to succeed. Even if doing so will kill him. Hikari helped him so much already and she rarely asks a favor to him. He would not fail her, not this time.

He remembered owning a special pill that could unleash a person's full power. The only catch is, you die. He stretched a hand down to his pocket and found it. He bought the pill for times like these. He never expected that it would be too soon for him to use it but he had no choice. He is either gonna die accomplishing nothing or die victorious.

He swallowed the pill and he felt a surge of power running through his entire body, at the same time Kushina felt her power draining and her body returns back to its normal state. Convinced that her enemy is knocked out, she dropped her guard down as she was having a conversation with Fugaku, she did not notice someone sneak up from behind.

Then a moment after...

"Kushina!" Fugaku shouted as he saw his friend fly through mid-air and crash unto a huge rock. She lied on the ground motionless.

"What do you want from her?" Fugaku asked and grabbed a weapon from his holster.

Rokudo remained quiet and surged toward the red-haired kunoichi to end her life with a single powerful blow.

"Leave the girl behind! Pick on someone your own size!" Jiraiya stopped him with his hand and landed a punch on his gut. He is carrying Minato on his back.

"You are.. one of the legendary sannin!" Rokudo is amazed to see the very man he looked up to standing in front of him. He admired him since he was a kid. There were rumors about the three powerful ninjas from Konoha who helped save their small village during the third great shinobi war. Great stories are passed on from person to person until every child in the village wanted to be like them. He isn't an exception of course.

He didn't know if he could match up to him. He is now facing him, out of all the ninjas he could encounter.

_"Why does capturing the jinchuriki have to be so complicated? Never mind, I have to do this, no matter what."_

He attempted to counter him with a kick but Jiraiya easily evaded it and formed some hand-seals.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

"Jiraiya! why do you have to summon me now? I was just about to have my supper!" the chief toad grumbled.

"Oh please do a favor for me, finish this guy off while I bring Minato to the hospital. I dont have time to fight with this squirt. Im sure you can handle him, right" Jiraiya sounded like he was pleading for his life.

"Okay, just this one time! Good thing Im not in such a bad mood. Hurry up and get going." The chief toad said as he looked at the man in front of him.

"Thanks, I owe you one." Jiraiya smiled and ran off through the woods.

At the hospital...

Jiraiya is outside the hospital room waiting for the results. After half an hour, a nurse came out, wearing a gloomy expression on her face. He knew that maybe the damage he took was greater than he thought.

"How is Minato?" Jiraiya asked worriedly.

"I'm sorry to tell you this but Namikaze Minato needs his arms and legs to be casted for two months because of the his broken limbs. The good news is, none of his injuries are fatal and he could return on doing his duties as a ninja as soon as he recovers. All he needs is a good bed rest."

"That was a relief but two months? that's too long. Is there any way he could recuperate faster?" Jiraiya asked.

"I'm afraid not. Sorry but I have other patients I have to attend to. We can talk some other time. Would you please excuse me?" the nurse asked politely.

"Uh.. sure." Jiraiya scratched his head.

He noticed a familiar woman walking across the hallway.

"Jiraiya! What are you doing here? Did something happen?"the blonde woman in front of her spoke. She is around Jiraiya's age but she looks like a woman who just hit their twenties. You could say she's one of the most beautiful kunoichi in town.

"Oh Tsunade.. Long time no see! Can I ask a favor from you?" the sannin hesitately said, he is afraid that Tsunade might reject him like she always does.

"Let me hear it." the woman said.

"My student wont be able to perform his duties as a ninja for two months. He recieved a lot of fractures and broken limbs from his last mission. You know how long two months would be for a ninja who does nothing but rest. He would feel depressed for not being able to cooperate in team missions and he will blame it all to himself. I am worried about him."

Tsunade sighed. "Okay, I'll try my best to find a solution so that his injuries would heal faster. That's all I could promise you by now."

Jiraiya sighed. "You dont know how grateful I am to hear that. Thanks a lot!"

Tsunade rolled her eyes and told him. "It's nothing. It's my duty to help those people in need so there's no need to thank me. I'm kinda busy right now, so I have to go. See you around."

_"Busy she says, I bet she's having a date with Dan... Oh well." _Jiraiya thought as he saw her walking through the halls, entering the last door on the left.

Meanwhile at the forests...

"Fugaku! You did it! err... what's a humongous frog doing here?" Mikoto made a disgusted face.

"Oh him? I did nothing really, he did all the fighting while I was just there to back him up. How's Kushina?" Fugaku asked.

"I brought her to somewhere safe. I also treated her injuries. She's still unconcious by now. Im afraid that my medical ninjutsu isn't enough to heal her wounds. You look pretty tired too, you must rest for a bit and dont push yourself too hard." Mikoto said with concern.

"No. Our priority is to bring Kushina back as soon as possible. Dont worry about me. I'll be fine." Fugaku smiled.

Mikoto felt slightly embarrassed. She blushed a little. "What?! Who said I was worried about you? Arghh! Lets get going already." Mikoto turned away from him and started to head back to the village on her own. She carried Kushina on her back and started jumping from tree branch to tree branch.

"What a temperament fella she is. Im impressed you could put up with her." the chief toad said.

"I got used to it and besides she's my fiancee'." Fugaku said as he waved goodbye and hurried to catch up with Mikoto.

When he already caught up to her pace, Mikoto noticed him and turned her head away.

"Why are you so angry at me this time? I dont remember doing anything offending to you." Fugaku asked.

She did not respond.

"I could carry her for you if you want."

Still, there's no response...

Fugaku sighed. "If that's the way you want it then fine! I was just being nice to you."

He heard a supressed laugh from her.

"I really dont get you, what's so funny?!" Fugaku is getting slightly irritated.

"I cant believe how much you've changed. I was used to the idea that you were quiet and emotionless. I can't even picture you being angry but looking at you now, I realized something." she smiled.

"You are different from the Fugaku I used to know... I wonder what made you do this, or who." Mikoto noticed Fugaku feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"Oh... just ignore what I said."

Fugaku's thoughts drifted back at the time when they were just freshly graduated genin.

_Flashback:_

_"Our first mission is done! I congratulate the three of you." Sakumo grinned at them and gave them a thumbs up._

_Kushina pouted. "There's nothing to be happy about.. the mission was boring. I was expecting something much more cooler than this."_

_Ken agreed. "Yeah.. this sucks!"_

_Fugaku is rather focused on something else. He felt a tap on his shoulder._

_"Hey! What's with you?" Kushina asked him._

_"Hn..."_

_Kushina sighed. "Seriously. Why wont you even talk to me when I ask you something? that's rude ya know. You wont be able to make any friends if you continue being like that."_

_"So?" Fugaku said._

_"It's always the same thing, it's either you utter a word or say nothing at all. Mikoto wont like you if you stay like that." Kushina just thought of a random girl she could tease Fugaku with._

_Fugaku payed attention to her this time and asked. "Really?"_

_Kushina raised an eyebrow. "You like her? whoah! I was just bluffing for a moment there, I didn't know I guessed it right."_

_"Stop assuming things, you're annoying." Fugaku said as he left her alone._

_"First time he completed a sentence. What a strange guy... I'll just grab some ramen for now. Im kinda hungry." Kushina said to herself and she prepared to leave._

_Even though Kushina did not realize it, starting from that point on, Fugaku began to change._

_end of flashback..._

They already reached the village gates and they saw their parents waiting outside with their arms crossed.

"I was wondering where you ran off to! You should have left a note at least. Good thing Jiraiya explained everything to us. When I and Fugaku's mother found out that you were both missing, we thought the both of you ran off together." Mikoto's mom said.

"Mom... why would I even do that? If you would please excuse me, Im exhausted from our trip today so I'm heading home." Mikoto said with a hint of irritaion in her voice. She walked passed through her and started heading home.

"I forgot to tell you by the way. As for your punishment , you'll have no allowance for one month." her mother said sternly.

Mikoto abruptly stopped. "I was already expecting something like that."

"Fugaku could you do me a favor? Bring Kushina to the hospital while I head home." Mikoto said before she rushed back to her house. The truth is, she just wanted to skip a conversation with her parents. She still has a grudge on them for arranging that stupid engagement.

"Sure." Fugaku sighed. She is always like this whenever her parents are around.

* * *

Kushina has regained conciousness and saw herself in a hospital room.

_"What happened? Last thing I rememeber is that I was talking to Fugaku then something hit me."_

"You're awake already. Im impressed with your recuperating abilities but you should rest by now." a blonde woman said.

_"I think I saw her somewhere before... but I can't remember when or where." _Kushina thought as she stared at the beautiful blonde woman who is reading some medical books.

"Why are you staring at me?" The woman spoke.

"Uh... nothing. I just thought that maybe I've seen you before. May I ask you something?" the red-haired kunoichi said.

"Go ahead and ask." The woman said.

"By any chance, do you know Jiraiya-sensei?" although her memory of it was blurry, the woman beside her looks exactly like the one who beat up the toad sage when she caught him peeking on girls in the bath house.

"Yeah... he's my teammate." she kept her book aside and scanned through her papers.

Kushina's eyes widened as she realized that the woman attending to her is none other than Tsunade, the greatest medical ninja in town.

Tsunade compiled her papers and books. "You are the nine-tails jinchuriki right? I just found out a solution on how to make Minato's injuries heal faster. Come with me young lady."

Kushina gasped. "Minato you say? Is he alright?"

Tsunade looked at her, slightly confused. "You know Minato?"

"Of course I know him, he is a close friend of mine. I'll do whatever I can so that I could help him. I hope he's okay." she started to panic.

"Relax. He's doing fine but I assure you that this process wont be easy. I need you to draw out the chakra of the Kyuubi." Tsunade said.

Kushina paused for awhile. _"I managed to use the Kyuubi's chakra once but it was because I was on the verge of death. I don't know if I could do it again. This is not as easy as it sounds, ya know." _she thought.

"Uh.. sure. If that's how it is then no problem, I just need some time to figure this out. And by the way, don't tell Minato that I'm you know." Kushina shyly said.

The blonde lady chuckled. "Fine. It must be hard living your life as a jinchuriki so I understand. My grandmother is the jinchuriki of the nine tails before you."

Kushina's eyes bulged. "What?! Your grandma is Lady Mito? I had no idea. Sorry for raising my voice for a moment there. I just cant believe it."

"It's okay. We'll start the procedures tomorrow. For now, you must rest in bed and go to sleep. Good night." Tsunade said as she closed the lights and shut the door closed. Kushina stared at the ceiling wall and let out a deep sigh.

_"Fugaku and Mikoto found out about it and they didn't change tha way they think about me, maybe I should tell him already... No, I cant risk something like that."_

_Flashback:_

_The time when they were just in the academy, Kushina remembered asking Minato a question._

_"Hey Minato! Have you heard of a jinchuriki before? What do you think of them?" Kushina gleefully asked._

_"Hmm... I heard that they are really scary humans, they're more like monsters. They have a tailed beast sealed within them and there's a possibility they'll go on a rampage and destroy anything or anyone on its way. That's what I read from one of the secret books hidden on the farthest part of the library. I don't know why it's a secret though." Minato said._

_Kushina looked disappointed. "Oh is that so?"_

_Minato looked at her face. "What's with the saddened expression? and why are you asking me anyway?"_

_Kushina mustered a fake smile and looked at him. "Im not sad. It was nothing, I was just curious that's all."_

_end of flashback..._

"I think telling him wont be a good idea... It can wait." She closed her eyes and fell into deep slumber.

* * *

I know that some of you might not like what I did in this chapter. There might be also some people out there who got disappointed because it did not turn out into what they expected it to be. I apologize for that. It is mostly my fault for forcing myself to write and post a chapter within a week, when I'm not even inspired. I'll make it up to you guys next chapter which will be mostly about Kushina and Minato, and a little fluff... :D If you have any suggestions, feel free to do so and leave a review.

And by the way, Rokudo is not dead yet... *covers mouth* oops! my mouth slipped. O_O

to be continued...


	19. Lies

Thank you so much for the reviews, follows and favorites! It really means a lot. Im really sorry for the late update, I was celebrating my birthday somewhere else, far away from home, so I have not found the time to finish this chapter quickly. Anyone heard of Sword Art Online? I was watching it while I was typing this out and it was so amazing, but not as amazing as Naruto of course.

* * *

Chapter Nineteen

Lies

It is a sunny afternoon in Konoha, which indicates that summer time is near. Beads of sweat starts rolling down Kushina's cheeks and she awakens, due to the discomfort the summer heat is bringing. She's been living in Konoha for 5 years but she just can't get used to the type of weather here. Back in Uzushiogakure, she enjoys the regular rainy weather and the cool breeze during winter. She looks at the wall clock on the upper right corner of the plain white hospital wall and growls.

"Ugh! I was supposed to meet Tsunade at eight and it is already past twelve, I gotta move fast." Kushina grumbled as she gets out of bed and goes to the bathroom to take a shower. Nobody could blame her for oversleeping. If you had been burning the same amount of energy she used up during her fight with Rokudo, who is probably lying drop-dead on the ground right now, you would be sleeping for an entire day. (I'm not kidding on this one)

She goes to a nearby counter and eats some bread and fresh milk she just found in the fridge. Surprisingly, the hospital rooms here in Konoha are quite good, having complete appliances such as a refrigerator and television set, and a clean bathroom. While she is munching on her bread, she couldn't help but ask for more. She felt like she could eat 10 bowls of ramen if she could. Her stomach is still rumbling, asking for more sustenance but she has to endure it for a little while and go meet with Tsunade first before she gets scolded for being extremely late. She heard that the blonde kunoichi outbeats anyone when it comes to temper, and large tits while you're at it. That's what she heard at least, from Jiraiya the self-proclaimed super pervert. She hopes that what the toad sage told her is untrue, she cant stomach being here in the hospital for too long. Although she admits that being at the hospital isn't as bad as she thinks it is but even so, she feels so useless, staying at a room all day is such a waste of time and productivity.

She thanked her stars that she recuperate fast, and she could get out of this (prison) hospital as soon as she recovers. She packs up her things, even though she is not required to bring anything. Her pouch had things like chakra enhancement pills, shurikens (for some reason, she feels that she has to bring these things just in case something happens.) and a notebook. Once she is ready to leave, she gets out of the room and locks the door.

Walking through the halls, she noticed other patients being checked in, then she realized that there were others, who had it worse than her. She should stop complaining about how unlucky she is and be thankful that despite all the trials she went through, she still made it alive and in one piece. Which makes her wonder, is Minato okay? Is he fine?

She hurries to Minato's room, where Tsunade has appointed the meeting. She looked around the pale white room but have not seen a sign of the blonde woman. She deeply sighed, Tsunade must have got tired of waiting and went elsewhere, she thought.

"Kushina. you finally came to visit me... Im glad to see that you're fine." Minato smiled weakly and Kushina got a little teary eyed seeing that his whole body is in cast.

"Baka! You're so reckless! Why do you have to come and save me?" She immediately ran towards him and gave him a tight hug.

He rests his head on her shoulder and whispers on her ear. "Unfortunately, things did not turn out as I planned, I have not done a single thing to save you, I'm sorry."

Kushina breaks free from the hug and looked at him as her eyes got watery. "You don't have to apologize. In fact, I have done a lot of rude things to you lately. I'm the one who is supposed to apologize. I'm very sorry Minato for causing you all this trouble."

Minato smiled warmly at her and touched her cheeks. "Somehow, I feel fully content. Seeing you alive and well is definitely worth the risk, and because of this, you started talking to me again."

"Dont you even care about yourself?! You don't know how worried I was back there, I almost turned into a- never mind what I just said. What I'm trying to say is, never risk your life for me or for anyone else, okay?" she said as she brushed away some strands of his hair away from his face.

"I know that I'm being selfish here but I just can't promise you that. If the situation comes that either one of us has to die, I have to risk mine so that I can save you. You have to keep on living, do you understand?"

Kushina shooked her head and raised her voice. "There's no way I could agree on that! I'll protect you too!" she pauses for a while before she adds.

" I...I.. can't lose you, I just can't! You don't know how lonely I felt when I thought you were gone... You are my best friend after all." Kushina wants to mentally slap herself at first, she is giving way too much clue about her feelings towards the blonde, which she plans to keep to herself. But sometimes, she questions herself, for how long can she keep up with the bestfriend act when she knows to herself that she wanted more than that.

She cupped his cheeks and looked at him straight on the eye. "but... since we're just best friends, this wont mean a thing." she slowly moved her face closer to his. Minato knew what she was up to so he closed his eyes and waited for her, inches became centimeters and their lips almost met but the door flung open, revealing Jiraiya who is currently dropping his jaw for witnessing such an intense scene. The both of them looked away from each other and felt really embarrassed.

"Oh Minato, sorry for interrupting such a romantic moment for the two of you." Jiraiya grins at them and looks outside the door. "Here she comes..."

Footsteps could be heard from inside and the sound got louder as she approached nearer.

"Hello there Kushina! You're late but I'll reconsider giving you a punishment since you really needed a good night's sleep. How are you doing Minato?" the blonde woman said.

"Im fine, thankyou Tsunade-sama. Why are you having a meeting with Kushina here anyway?" Minato asks and he notices her glaring at the blonde woman who is standing at the doorstep.

Tsunade noticed the red-head's reaction when Minato asked that question . She was confused at first but she finally remembered what Kushina told her last night.

_"Uh.. sure. If that's how it is then no problem, I just need some time to figure this out. And by the way, don't tell Minato that I'm you know."_

"About that, Kushina talked to me yesterday night and told me that she wants to help you so I'm going to teach her medical ninjutsu." Tsunade smiles at him and looks back at the red-head and noticed her sigh from relief.

"By the way Kushina, come with me outside. We have to discuss something important." the blonde woman said as she motioned her to come. She nodded and waved goodbye to Minato before leaving. Minato's gaze followed the movements of the red-haired kunoichi as she exited the room. He wanted to talk to her, to tell her that he missed her so much but he was never the type of person to express his feelings through words.

He sighed deeply and noticed Jiraiya entering the room as soon as the two females left. Jiraiya shuts the door close and walks toward Minato with a pervish grin plastered on his face.

"Sensei?" Minato started to respond.

"Why do you look like you've just seen a ghost? Is that Kushina traumatizing you? From the looks of it, you've been busy with her moments ago..." the toad sage sat on the stool beside Minato's bed.

"You got it wrong sensei, It was nothing. Why do you have to question every little thing you see?" the blonde sat up and reached for the cup of tea on the table beside him.

Jiraiya handed the tea-cup to him and the smile on his face grew wider than before. "Oh really? then why is your face turning red? Anyone could conclude that you are making out with her, judging from the position and the closeness the two of you had before I arrived. Who knows? Maybe if I have not interrupted the two of you, you might've stolen her virginity. You sly fox! You've been taught well, I'm impressed."

Minato glared at him as his whole face turned red with anger and embarrassment. "I'm not like that! I'm not a pervert, and Im not like you! I respect her too much to do such a thing. She was just checking my face, that's all."

"Oh? for such a genius, you make such lame excuses. You're so hopeless... you could find someone so much better than her, ya know? You've been friend-zoned."

"It's just so impossible to like someone else. No matter how I tried I always end up falling for her." Minato's eyes are getting a little droopy.

"Then tell me why are you dating that Hikari girl from the other day if you love Kushina." Jiraiya said with a serious face this time.

"Are you spying on me sensei? Seriously, I can't even keep a single secret from you." the blonde facepalmed.

"Answer my question squirt! You did not even reconsider what Kushina would feel about it, don't you? when did you began to act like a total jerk? playing around with women's hearts." the toad sage stands up with burning flames visible on his eyes.

Minato began to sweatdropped. "You got it all wrong sensei-"

"Dont speak yet! It's my duty to save those pretty girls from a heart breaker like you." the toad sage posed his usual stance which he does a lot during battles or when he tries to impress (disgust would be the proper word actually) a girl.

Minato sighs and points a bread knife towards Jiraiya's face. "You could save all that heart warming speech for later, okay? You've got to hear me out first."

The toad sage plops back down to his chair. "Go ahead and talk! I'll be the judge whether you are guilty or not."

This weird attitude of Jiraiya is really getting on his nerves. Where the heck did he get that idea to impersonate himself as a lawyer? His patience level is about to reach its critical level. "You're so weird sometimes sensei. As I was talking about earlier, it's not like I wanted to go out with her or anything. I just felt sad for her when I saw her crying in front of me so I decided that I'll give her a chance and have a date with her just this one time... I know what it feels to be rejected so I feel guilty whenever I see myself doing the exact same thing towards others. The thing is, I didn't expect Kushina to act that way, I knew that she never felt the same way about me so I never understood why."

Jiraiya rubs his chin. "You could be so naive sometimes. What would you feel if someone very close to you tells you that she loves you? then one day after, you find out that the one who confessed to you is dating another man. You would feel betrayed right? Try to see things not only within your own perspective but to other people as well. Trusting people is a hard thing to do, but as soon as you break this trust, there's no guarantee that it'll come back. If you were in her shoes, wouldn't you feel the same?"

Minato looked at his bed sheets and felt awful about himself. "I guess you're right... I should apologize to her, I'm such a useless jerk."

Jiraiya places his hand on top of his head and rubs it against his spiky blonde hair. "Cheer up kid! Regretting about something you've done in the past wont change a thing, you're just making yourself more miserable. Just make it up to her when you still have the chance and just a piece of advice, learn from your mistakes so you wont repeat the same thing again. I resign, my job here is done. Till next time Minato, I have to go now." Jiraiya slides the window open and jumps through it while waving his hand goodbye. Minato's face lit up into a smile, his sensei could be a real pain in the ass sometimes but even though, he couldn't ask for a better sensei.

Meanwhile at one room, the red-haired kunoichi had her gaze stuck on the floor. Tsunade brought up a very sensitive topic which made her visibly uncomfortable.

"Answer me Kushina, do you really plan on hiding this from Minato? If you consider him as your closest friend, why not give him a chance to know your situation. You cannot say that you are truly friends if you cant trust him with a secret." the blonde woman looked at her sternly.

"You don't understand Tsunade-sama, Im afraid he'll turn his back on me if he knew that I am a... monster." Kushina's eyes tried to avoid her gaze as she felt a pang of guilt pierced through her heart. She knew that she should tell him, because it would be really unfair to him. Mikoto and Fugaku accepted her, so why wouldn't he? but taking this risk can break her heart into million of pieces if the worst happened. _"What if he had a bad experience that is somehow related to the Kyuubi? what if he despises tailed beasts?"_ questions like these kept rummaging through her head.

"If you continue like this, I may not be able to help Minato anymore." This statement pierced her like a knife. She is feeling her blood boiling again. Like the old Kushina who would easily lose her temper when being provoked by the bullies way back at the academy.

"but you said that you understand me because Mito-sama went through the same thing. Is that all a lie? You really dont understand anything about me!" Kushina screamed.

"I do understand but Im just doing you a favor. Face the truth Kushina, Minato is a smart guy. If we would continue on this, he will soon discover about the beast inside you. Do you think he would be completely satisfied on getting out of the hospital without even asking how his injuries and fractures healed in an insane amount of speed? Of course, he would ask then eventually he would dig deeper into the mystery behind it, then he'll learn about your secret before you even realize it." Tsunade sat down on a chair and looked out of the window.

"I don't know what to do anymore... Why should it be so unfair? Why of all people should I be the jinchuriki of the nine-tails? I don't deserve this kind of suffering." Kushina started to tear up.

Tsunade embraced her slender figure and stroked through her hair. "Look at the brighter side of things Kushina, if he knew that you were able to heal him because of that demon inside you, wouldn't he think that it is a blessing rather than a curse? Minato is a shrewd person, he would not abandon someone close to him just because of something trivial like that. You of all people must know of this." she pulled away and smiled at her. Kushina felt like a big burden on her shoulders was lifted up. She feels so much better right now.

"I will think about it Tsunade. Things might turn out well than I thought, just give me time." Kushina said before exiting the door. Tsunade watched her from a corner and smiled. _"I know it would work out well between the two of you, I just know it."_

* * *

"Sorry I failed you, princess."

Hikari looked at him with concern. "It's alright, now that I know that she is something important to Konoha, I have to stop my desire to kill ker. However, I can use that information for something else. This would be fun." Hikari chuckled and brushed her hair in front of the mirror.

"Just rest for now, the important thing is that you're alive... " Hikari said in a soft manner.

"but next time you do a mission, make sure Minato would be unharmed or else..." she glared at him like she had daggers in her eyes. Rokudo sighed but his lips curved up into a smile, he was already aware of her constant mood swings and he is the only person who had the chance to witness her evil side. Yet deep inside, Hikari knew that he is the only person who could accept her for who she really is, because she had been lying about herself for her entire life. Although she wouldn't admit it, she is really glad that he is still around.

* * *

Phew! Sorry if this chapter is short. I kinda rushed things up and made sure I would be able to update within a week. Thank you for the support! Sorry if there is no action in here -_-

More things are in store for this story and I'm not even halfway done... To tell you the truth, I have no idea when this story would be closing to its end. One thing is for sure, I assure you that I wont abandon this story. I had a lot of experiences of reading really great fanfics but it disappointed me when the author decided not to finish it. I would definitely NOT do the same thing in my own fanfic.

to be continued...


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